The vote was unanimous, though some of the ministers expressed criticism prior to casting their votes.

The cabinet vote came hours before German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and senior figures from the International Monetary Fund and European Union were to meet on November 2 with Greek officials at an emergency meeting in Cannes, France, ahead of the G-20 summit.

Their meeting comes a day after US and European stock markets tumbled after Papandreou's call for the referendum on international aid for his country.

A "no" vote could theoretically force Greece to crash out of the euro and send shock waves through the global financial system.

Papandreou is seeking public backing from the Greek people for last week's bailout deal, which took months to reach.

But the move created turmoil in domestic politics, with Papandreou forced to hold an emergency Cabinet meeting late on November 1, and angered his European counterparts.

Sarkozy and Merkel issued a terse statement on November 1 saying they were "determined to ensure the full implementation, without delay, of decisions adopted by the summit, which are necessary now more than ever."

White House spokesman Jay Carney struck a similar note, saying Papandreou's move reinforced the need for Europe "to elaborate further and implement rapidly the decisions they made last week."