BUCHAREST (AFP) - The Romanian parliament voted Thursday to suspend President Traian Basescu in a first step to impeaching him, throwing the country into turmoil less than four months after it joined the EU.

Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu, who has been in a long-running feud with the president, said: "I ask Traian Basescu to honour his own decision to resign and cut all ties with the presidency."

The president has said he would resign if parliament voted to suspend him. This would force a new presidential election in which he would stand.

Basescu was accused of 19 constitutional violations, including "controlling through those close to him all state institutions, of interfering in the law and protecting the interests of the mafia in the Romanian economy."

Opposition members also blame him for the country's political crisis, especially through his criticism of Tariceanu and his threats to call legislative elections.

The 55-year-old, who remains a popular figure in Romania and could win back his post, struck a combative note telling thousands of his supporters who had gathered in front of the university: "We will see each other at the polls."

His supporters in turn shouted "Do not resign," and "We love you."

The embattled president said: "I assure you that after my return I will continue to speak openly and tell the truth about the government."

Basescu's close collaborators have said he would announce his resignation after his suspension has been made official, which should occur within 48 hours of the vote.

The leader of the opposition Social Democrats who spearheaded the move against Basescu, Mircea Geoana, said the vote was "a victory for Romanian democracy even if it is a difficult moment."

Opposition members, led by the Social Democrats, say Basescu violated the constitution by acting in a partisan way.

Basescu's impeachment must be approved in a referendum, which must be held within 30 days of Thursday's vote.

A total of 322 members of Romania's 469-seat parliament voted for his suspension, while 108 voted against and 10 abstained. The motion needed the backing of 235 MPs to be adopted.

The three opposition parties that filed the motion against Basescu and which hold 228 parliamentary seats, said they would vote for his impeachment.

MPs from Tariceanu's National Liberal Party and its coalition partner in the minority government also supported the motion after their leaders told them Wednesday to vote as they chose.

Basescu's Democrats, who have 71 seats in parliament, have opposed the impeachment request since it was launched.

Basescu, in power since 2004, has been in a long-running feud with the prime minister who sacked ministers from the president's Democrat party in a government reshuffle several weeks ago.

But the conflict seems to have escalated since Romania joined the

The political crisis has not improved the country's image abroad. EU experts are set to visit next week to assess the country's progress in implementing reforms, especially in the judicial area.

Basescu is the first Romanian president to be suspended since the fall of communism in 1989. In 1994, Ion Iliescu avoided suspension following accusations that he had involved himself in judicial matters.

The Social Democrat head of the senate, Nicolar Vacaroiu, will take over presidential duties until a referendum is held. In the event Basescu resigns, Vacaroiu would fulfil his functions until presidential elections are held in three months' time.