Romania Mps Vote to Suspend President

Romania was thrown into political uncertainty yesterday after its parliament voted to suspend the president in the first step towards impeaching him.

Opponents have accused Traian Basescu of violating the constitution by fomenting instability, spying on politicians and blackmailing the judiciary.

Yesterday parliament voted by 322 to 108 to suspend him. Politicians have 30 days to hold a referendum, which is necessary for impeachment to follow.

"Traian Basescu is a political project that failed," Mircea Geona, head of the leftist opposition party PSD, said during the parliamentary debate. "He is incapable of pushing the country forward, of uniting it."

After yesterday's vote, dozens of supporters gathered in Bucharest. Mr Basescu joined them. "I am still the president of Romania," he said. "The time has come for justice to be done in Romania. I am the captain of the long-distance voyage and this voyage ... will be long," he said, referring to his past job as a sea captain.

It was thought likely the president, who has been in power since 2004, would try to wrong-foot his opponents by resigning, thus prompting a snap presidential election. As the country's most popular politician, he would be likely to win such a vote and secure another five-year term.

The deepening crisis has already affected Romania's chances of benefiting fully from its EU membership, analysts say. While it was seen as a remarkable achievement that Romania, which has a population of 22 million, joined the union in January, the European commission says it must not stall on reforms.

Mr Basescu, 55, has been accused of plunging Romania into a political crisis, largely due to his criticism of the prime minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, with whom he has had a long-running feud. It started when Mr Tariceanu said Romania should pull troops out of Iraq and Mr Basescu disagreed.

Supporters of Romania's EU membership hope it will change the way politics is practised. EU funding is dependent on how Romania tackles corruption.