A day after he was suspended by Romania's opposition-dominated parliament pending an impeachment referendum amid allegations that he abused his position, President Traian Basescu said he would not resign.
Basescu -- who had warned he would step down and run for a new term if suspended -- said on Friday that he had changed his mind, and that resigning would have prolonged the political turmoil because elections could not be organized for several months.
The impeachment referendum would take place on or before May 20. Senate Chairman Nicolae Vacaroiu on Friday took over as interim president.
Basescu is accused of a range of abuses, including wiretapping ministers' phones and criticizing judges.
"The best solution for Romania is for me to take part in the referendum," said Basescu, who has denied any wrongdoing. "It's correct to put the national interest first, which requires stability ahead of any political interest."
Basescu said he had received messages of concern from abroad about the political crisis. The EU in particular has been watching events nervously as new-member Romania is still expected to push through reforms to eradicate corruption and bring its economy up to par with other EU nations. Romania joined the bloc on Jan. 1.
Basescu -- a former sea captain and Romania's most popular politician -- was unlikely to be removed from office. A majority of all Romanians of voting age would need to support impeachment in the referendum, which was considered nearly impossible given his popularity and the normally low turnouts at Romanian ballots.
Vacaroiu, 63, took over as interim president until the results of the referendum were known.
"I am not happy because it's a very difficult situation," he said. "It's the first time in Romania's history that a president is suspended."
A member of the opposition left-wing Social Democratic Party, Vacaroiu was prime minister in 1992-1996. In 2000 prosecutors accused him of approving oil shipments to former Yugoslavia in violation of a UN embargo. The investigation was ended abruptly when his Social Democratic Party returned to government later that year.
Earlier on Friday, the Constitutional Court rejected an appeal by Basescu against the suspension, which parliament approved in a 323-108 vote on Thursday.
The court's decision was largely a formality, as the judges were only required by law to verify whether a majority of lawmakers voted to suspend the president.
In a separate ruling published on Tuesday, the court said there was no evidence to back the opposition's charges that Basescu had violated the Constitution. That ruling, however, was not legally binding.
Opposition lawmakers have accused Basescu of a range of abuses. But the backdrop is a political feud between Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu.
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