( Reuters ) - Parties associated with the 2004 "Orange Revolution" created a majority coalition in Ukraine's parliament on Thursday, the first step towards forming a government.
The coalition is expected to be headed by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, one of the leaders of the revolution that swept President Viktor Yushchenko to power.
Roman Zvarych, an ally of President Viktor Yushchenko who was chairing the session, said 227 signatures appeared on the document -- one less than expected. A majority made up of 226 members is needed to win most votes in the chamber.
The coalition deal followed weeks of negotiations after an election between two "orange" groups -- Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party and Tymoshenko's bloc -- that set aside differences during the campaign to win the slender majority.
Parliament has 30 days from its first post-election sitting last week to form a coalition and a further 30 to put together a government.
Yushchenko came to power after the Orange Revolution's mass protests against electoral fraud in 2004, but the movement could not maintain its unity and the president sacked Tymoshenko as prime minister months later.
The two leaders reconciled during the campaign.