Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to sign into law a bill approved by parliament last month that rights groups and many opposition politicians say drastically curbs the rights of the country's LGBT community.
The so-called "family values" bill was pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party on September 17 in an 84-0 vote, which was boycotted by the opposition while rallies were being held by protesters outside the parliament building.
In line with the provisions of the Georgian Constitution, Zurabishvili refused to endorse the bill and returned it to parliament without written comments, the presidential administration confirmed to RFE/RL on October 2.
The move highlights the dramatically polarized political landscape in the Caucasus nation ahead of national elections in October.
Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili, a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the Georgian Dream is now expected to sign the bill into law and publish it within five days.
The package of legal changes, whose complete title is On Family Values And Protection Of Minors, brings changes to 18 current laws, including legislation on free speech and expression as well as broadcasting.
SEE ALSO: How Georgia's Ruling Party Is Using Laws On 'Foreign Agents' And 'Gay Propaganda' To Maintain Its Grip On Power
The measures provide for the banning of gatherings that promote the right of a person to identify as a gender other than "his or her biological sex" and they also prohibit gatherings advocating for same-sex orientation or relationships.
The opposition has boycotted parliamentary meetings since May, when Georgian Dream lawmakers approved a "foreign influence" bill, which Western governments and many Georgians liken to Russia's "foreign agent" law used by the Kremlin to clamp down on dissent with broad discretion.
The law requires organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence."
Zurabishvili vetoed that bill, but the ruling party overrode her opposition and promulgated it despite months of public protests and warnings from the United States and the European Union that the measure was eroding Georgia's democracy and its path to integration into the Western institutions.
SEE ALSO: First Georgian NGOs Added To 'Foreign Agents' Registry Under Controversial LawIn response, Washington on September 16 introduced sanctions on more than 60 Georgians, including two members of the government, who it said had "undermined" democracy and human rights in the country, prompting Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to warn that Tbilisi might revise ties with the United States.
The European Union, meanwhile, reacted to the bill by pausing EU accession negotiations.
Ahead of the October 26 elections, Georgian Dream remains the country's single most popular party, according to opinion polls.