Parliament gave initial approval to the bill on Tuesday, but then tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament, and again on Wednesday. Some protesters threw Molotov cocktails, rocks and plastic bottles at the police.

At least one window in the parliament building was smashed and a police car overturned. Police used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the crowd and said 77 people were arrested during Tuesday’s protest.

Opponents of the bill, including Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili, who said she would use her veto if it passed her desk, compared it to a 2012 Russian law, which was used to suppress dissent. The Georgian government says the legislation is based on US foreign agent laws, in place since the 1930s.

Georgia’s opposition has long criticized Georgian Dream for what it sees as being too close to Moscow. Russia has backed separatists in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The bill angered supporters of Georgian membership in the European Union, after EU officials condemned the bill, saying it would complicate Georgia’s path to join the bloc. Last year, the European Union refused to grant Georgia candidate status along with Moldova and Ukraine, citing stalled political and judicial reforms.