[JURIST] The Romanian Parliament [official website] voted Thursday to suspend Romanian President Traian Basescu [official website, English version; BBC profile] for allegedly violating the constitution [text]. Members of parliament voted 322-108 in favor of the suspension. According to the constitution, Romania must hold a national referendum on Basescu's impeachment within 30 days. The parliamentary vote was brought by the leftist opposition party PSD [party website] and stem from accusations by Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu [official profile] that Basescu was involved in suspicious multi-million-dollar energy deals.

Basescu has denied any abuse of power and promised to resign if he was suspended. His resignation would trigger national elections within 3 months in which Basescu plans to run. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.