FACTS
Indonesia Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 39-year-old son of former President Joko Widodo, resigned on Thursday, Nov. 12, handing his resignation letter to leaders of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the parliament complex in Jakarta, according to Antara, Indonesia’s state news agency. His resignation followed rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court that the overseas school documents he used to run in 2024 did not meet the legal requirement for vice-presidential candidates, Reuters reported. The MPR has scheduled a vote on a successor for Wednesday, Dec. 2.
What the court rulings said
Indonesian law requires vice presidents to have completed senior secondary school or its equivalent, BBC News reported. In October, the Constitutional Court found no persuasive evidence of a foreign diploma or certificate supporting Gibran’s high-school equivalency, according to Bloomberg, in a report carried by The Star. The court dismissed that case because the petitioners lacked standing, and said it could not disqualify him through an election-results dispute because he had already been sworn in, Bloomberg reported.
On Friday, Oct. 30, the Supreme Court ruled on an appeal by lawyer Subhan Palal against the Education Ministry, overturning two lower-court decisions and annulling a government certificate issued in August 2019 that had been used to show Gibran met the education requirement, according to Bloomberg. The BBC reported that the court found no evidence he had graduated from senior secondary school or an equivalent. Reuters reported that both courts found election authorities had wrongly accepted his qualifications.
Gibran has previously argued that his university education showed he had completed high school, the BBC reported.
How the Indonesia vice president resigned
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Gibran told President Prabowo Subianto he intended to resign during a meeting of about two and a half hours, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said, according to The Jakarta Post. Prasetyo said Prabowo “offered advice” and that Gibran asked for a chance to prove the validity of his documents through the State Administrative Court. The Associated Press reported that Gibran said he wanted to avoid a “prolonged political controversy.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, 120 lawmakers from eight parties submitted a petition that began a parliamentary process that could have led to impeachment, the AP reported.
Gibran’s letter to the MPR says he is resigning “at my own request” and cites “the interests of the nation and state,” without giving a specific reason, MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani told reporters, according to Antara. Gibran said the decision was his own, that it was unrelated to his academic credentials and that his documents were complete, Reuters reported. He said it “is also not a declaration of inability,” according to Reuters.
Reactions from Prabowo, Jokowi and markets
Prabowo said he accepted the resignation with a “heavy heart” and praised Gibran’s work. “I felt assisted. He did his job well,” Prabowo said, according to Reuters. The BBC reported that Prabowo praised Gibran’s “chivalrous attitude” and said education systems abroad differ from Indonesia’s.
Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, said, “We will continue to support President Prabowo’s administration,” Reuters reported. The BBC reported that he described the resignation as part of “political dynamics.”
Gibran’s place on the 2024 ticket was part of an alliance between Jokowi and Prabowo, the BBC reported. The resignation comes as police pursue a separate wiretapping case in which former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, a Jokowi ally, was arrested, according to The Jakarta Post and the BBC. The AP reported that the credentials inquiry appears unrelated to the wiretapping case. Indonesia’s rupiah weakened as much as 0.6% to a record low of 18,255 per U.S. dollar on Thursday, Reuters reported.
What happens next
“As of today, the office of vice president of the Republic of Indonesia is vacant,” Muzani said on Thursday, adding that “the MPR’s task is to fill the vacancy within 60 days at the latest,” according to Antara.
At a joint meeting on Friday, Nov. 13, the MPR set a plenary session for Dec. 2 to elect and inaugurate a new vice president, Antara reported. Under Law No. 17 of 2014 on legislative institutions, Prabowo must nominate two candidates within 14 days of receiving the MPR’s formal request, and the candidates must come from the parties or coalition that backed the winning 2024 ticket, according to Antara.
The MPR combines the 580-member House of Representatives and the 152-member Regional Representative Council, according to The Straits Times, in a report carried by The Star. Names discussed by analysts and party officials include Gerindra secretary-general Sugiono, Muzani and House Speaker Puan Maharani, the Straits Times reported.
More coverage is in the Stay Current News World section.
