Members of parliament have accused him of violating Romania's constitution, even though the constitutional court found no evidence of that.

He has been at odds for several months with the Prime Minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

The vote paves the way for a national referendum on Mr Basescu's impeachment within 30 days.

But correspondents say he remains the most popular politician in the country.

Mr Basescu and Mr Tariceanu have accused each other on television of involvement in dubious multi-million-dollar energy deals.

In the parliament on Thursday 322 members voted to suspend Mr Basescu, with 108 against and 10 abstentions.

The suspension was proposed by the leftist opposition party PSD.

Mr Basescu denies any wrongdoing and has vowed to resign if a referendum on his impeachment is called.