Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka formally submitted his resignation on Thursday, ending days of speculation after courts found his education documents did not meet the requirements to have run for office, the BBC and Channel News Asia reported.
Gibran, the 39-year-old son of former president Joko Widodo, arrived at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta at 11:15 a.m., declined to take questions and met for about 20 minutes with leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly, or MPR, CNA and the official Antara news agency said. MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani told reporters the same letter had also been submitted to President Prabowo Subianto.
Antara reported that the letter, printed on white paper with a gold Garuda emblem, gave no specific reason. As Muzani read it, Gibran wrote that he was resigning "at my own request," "with full awareness, in the interests of the nation and state and to ensure the smooth functioning of the government." "I believe the state and the Indonesian people must be protected above myself."
What the courts found
Indonesian law requires vice presidents to have completed senior secondary school or its equivalent. Having studied in Singapore and Australia, Gibran used an Indonesian equivalence certificate. The Supreme Court found "no evidence was found to show Gibran had a foreign diploma or certificate that could serve as the basis for equivalency," the BBC reported, and also considered an earlier October Constitutional Court ruling that reached the same conclusion. CNA said the Supreme Court on Oct. 30 annulled the equivalency certificate, less than a month after the Constitutional Court decision.
Gibran had argued that attending university was proof he finished senior high school. On Tuesday, according to the BBC, he asked for a chance to challenge the ruling; CNA reported that after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Prabowo that morning, Gibran told reporters the president had advised him to keep fighting, including seeking a judicial review. Pressure then intensified. On Tuesday, hundreds protested in Jakarta and other cities, with impeachment on some groups' agendas, CNA said. On Wednesday, 120 parliamentarians from all eight factions signed a proposal that could have led to impeachment proceedings.
A fraying alliance, and a timeline that sources describe differently
Standing with Gibran, Prabowo told reporters he accepted the resignation with "a heavy heart" and praised a "chivalrous attitude" and "the qualities of a statesman." He said Gibran "certainly believes that he completed his education through a proper and structured process. However, we must understand that educational systems abroad differ from those in Indonesia." CNA said Gibran met Prabowo on Thursday morning and again in the afternoon, when the president thanked him for help from the 2024 campaign through "two years of our administration."
Gibran reached Prabowo's ticket only after a controversial Constitutional Court ruling exempted him from the minimum age of 40; he was 36 at the time. The BBC said the alliance between Prabowo and Jokowi has shown strain: Prabowo has shown little interest in Jokowi's new-capital project at Nusantara, has reshuffled Jokowi loyalists, and last week sacked presidential chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo — no relation — after authorities arrested senior officials on suspicion of wiretapping the president. On Monday, three cabinet members resigned from the party led by Jokowi's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep. Jokowi told reporters Thursday that he still supports Prabowo and that he had told Gibran "the position was temporary."
Accounts of the succession process do not fully line up, and they should be kept distinct. CNA, citing the constitution, said the Upper House has three days to officially approve the resignation and another 60 days to select a replacement. The BBC said upper-house lawmakers will have 60 days to fill the vacancy from two candidates nominated by the president. Antara, quoting Muzani, said the MPR will convene a joint session, then send an official letter to the president, who will have 14 days from that letter to submit a candidate. This article is not choosing among those descriptions.