Ukraine's opposition toasted victory last night after the government agreed to reforms that clear the way for properly monitored elections. Chris Stephen reports from Kiev.
After two days of deadlock, outgoing President Leonid Kuchma agreed to sack officials blamed for rigging last month's failed presidential election.
Holding a copy of the reform Bill above his head, Mr Kuchma told cheering MPs, many wearing orange opposition scarves: "Over the last 100 years, Ukraine has more than once suffered through a crisis, but there was always enough common sense to find a way out and a decision." As crowds danced to rock bands in the city centre, protesters removed barricades erected two weeks ago around key government buildings.
Opposition leader Mr Viktor Yushchenko said while his supporters would remove a blockade of the main government building "pickets at the government building will continue."
"This is a victory for people power," said 16-year-old protester Ms Tatiana Fedurchuk, standing in Kiev's Independence Square last night with an orange silk scarf around her neck. "The government can't go back on its word, if they do, it's civil war. This means Ukraine can look towards the European Union."
Mr Yushchenko, speaking to cheering crowds in Kiev's Independence Square, praised the protesters of the so-called Orange Revolution.
"Tonight we are grateful for everyone who supported the Orange Revolution," he said. "What has happened is phenomenal. I am sure that in some months every one of you will be honoured to have been a part of this." Chief among the changes agreed by parliament is the sacking of the Central Election Commission, blamed for rigging the presidential election of November 21st.
Secondly, new election laws will close loopholes allegedly used for this fraud, including the abuse of absentee ballots.
Thirdly, the opposition succeeded in its demand for Mr Kuchma's chief prosecutor, Mr Hermadii Vasyliev, to resign. This clears the way for what may be widespread investigations in the new year both into electoral fraud and government corruption.
In return, the opposition dropped its demand for the government of Prime Minister Mr Viktor Yanukovich, Mr Kuchma's ally, to be dismissed.
Mr Kuchma also won his call for changes to the constitution to limit the powers of Ukraine's presidency, though less than he had originally asked for.
The reform package was agreed with a massive 402-21 vote in the nation's parliament, an unexpected show of unity after days of bitter debates.
These measures should clear the way for properly regulated elections on December 26th, expected to end in victory for Mr Yushchenko.
As well as ending the current crisis, yesterday's breakthrough shifts Ukraine from a presidential republic to a parliamentary one.
The changes means the president loses what were virtually dictatorial powers.
No longer can the president appoint his own prime minister; instead, he has the right only to veto prime ministers and other key ministers proposed by parliament, bringing Ukraine further into line with most European democracies.
"This makes it impossible to have an authoritarian government in Ukraine," said Mr Mikhail Pogrebinsky, a Kiev-based political analyst.
But Mr Yanukovich, the government candidate in the December 26th election, expressed fury with the result.
"An orange plague has spread over the nation," he said. "Lawlessness rules the land. I will not be able to do my work." Mr Yanukovich's days look to be numbered.
If, as expected, Mr Yushchenko wins their presidential run-off on December 26th, he is likely to back a no-confidence vote by parliament.
The result appears to have brought to an end a crisis that threatened to tear the country apart. Protesters in western strongholds, including Kiev, staged two-and-a-half weeks of constant protests.
Governors in the eastern government heartlands, meanwhile, threatened to form their own breakaway state unless Mr Yanukovich was installed as president.
The dispute also brought the West, which declared the government guilty of fraud, into conflict with Russia, which backed the government.
Last night, Russia's parliamentary speaker, Mr Boris Gryzlov, insisted: "Only victory by Yanukovich will ensure that Ukraine remains whole and complete." Not all opponents are happy, with Ms Yulia Tymoshenko, firebrand deputy to Mr Yushchenko, saying the agreement was an unnecessary climbdown.
And the hardline opposition group, Pora, said their pickets would remain outside the national presidency because of Mr Kuchma's refusal to sack the government, a move likely to bring them into conflict with mainstream opposition groups.
On the opposition front line, among the sagging canvas of Tent City, weary protesters cheered parliament's agreement. "Some kind of compromise had to be reached," said protester Mr Serhiy Vlasov (44). "We couldn't drag this out forever."