Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Friday, February 21, adopted a law on the return of the Constitution of Ukraine in the 2004 edition, which provides for the redistribution of powers towards a parliamentary republic, Interfax -Ukraine reports . 386 deputies voted in favor, one parliamentarian abstained, and 10 deputies did not vote.

The 2004 version of the Constitution was adopted during the Orange Revolution. She transferred part of the presidential powers to the parliament and government, making Ukraine a parliamentary-presidential republic. In 2010, when Viktor Yanukovych won the presidential elections in Ukraine, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared the reform of the 2004 constitution illegal. After this, the basic law of 1996 was restored, which expanded the powers of the president and transformed Ukraine into a presidential-parliamentary republic. The opposition protested against the return of the 1996 constitution, accusing the president of usurping power.

The return of the 2004 Ukrainian constitution was one of the main demands of the Ukrainian opposition. The 2004 constitution stipulates that presidential elections should be held in October 2014.

Earlier on February 21, Viktor Yanukovych, whose term of office was supposed to expire in 2015, announced that he would initiate early presidential elections and a return to the 2004 constitution. Yanukovych did not specify when exactly it was proposed to hold elections. In addition, Yanukovych signed an agreement to resolve the crisis with the leaders of three opposition factions Vitali Klitschko (Udar), Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Fatherland) and Oleg Tyagnibok.

The Rada reinstated the 2004 constitution