The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the evening of Friday, February 21, approved a law providing for a return to the 2004 constitution. Ukrayinska Pravda reports this.

The Rada's decision means that part of the current presidential powers will be transferred to parliament. The bill was considered without preliminary discussion. 386 deputies voted for him, with the required minimum of 300 votes.

The leader of the opposition Batkivshchyna faction, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that with the adoption of this document, the Verkhovna Rada will cease “to be a division of the presidential administration.” Also, according to him, parliament will have the opportunity to approve the composition of the government and influence the work of law enforcement agencies.

“The Verkhovna Rada will be able to realize what the Maidan hopes for - the restoration of rights, justice and dignity,” Yatsenyuk’s statement is quoted as saying in Comments .

The adoption of this law was preceded by the conclusion of an agreement between the government and the opposition to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. The Maidan Council (the coordinating body of Euromaidan) supported the signing of this document, but on the condition that the current head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vitaly Zakharchenko, will not be in the new government, and Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka will resign.

Earlier on February 21, President Viktor Yanukovych “gave the green light” to a return to the 2004 constitution and also announced early presidential elections.

During the “Orange Revolution” on December 8, 2004, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine introduced changes to the basic law of the state, changing the form of government to parliamentary-presidential. After Viktor Yanukovych’s victory in the presidential elections in 2010, 252 people’s deputies, mainly from the Party of Regions faction, sent a request to the Constitutional Court about the constitutionality of this political reform.

On September 30, 2010, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law amending the constitution was adopted in violation of the procedure. On this basis, the court terminated the validity of the Constitution in the 2004 edition and actually returned the basic law in the 1996 edition.

The Rada returned the 2004 constitution