Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted a resignation letter to leaders of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Thursday, November 12, following a dispute over whether his education documents met the legal requirements for office.
The letter was delivered at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta, ANTARA reported. The submission came as lawmakers were pursuing an initiative that could lead to impeachment proceedings.
The controversy concerns the high-school equivalency documents Gibran used to establish his eligibility. Indonesian law requires vice-presidents to have completed senior secondary school or an equivalent qualification. The Supreme Court said it found no evidence of a foreign diploma or certificate that could be used to demonstrate equivalency.
Gibran has argued that his university studies showed he had completed senior high school. He studied in Singapore and Australia and relied on an Indonesian equivalency certificate for his credentials.
Impeachment calls followed court ruling
More than 100 lawmakers backed a parliamentary initiative after the court decision. The Associated Press reported that 120 legislators were seeking his impeachment, as scrutiny of his eligibility intensified.
Gibran became eligible to run alongside President Prabowo Subianto in the 2024 election after a Constitutional Court ruling exempted him from the minimum age requirement of 40. He was 36 at the time.
His candidacy was part of an alliance between Prabowo and Gibran’s father, former president Joko Widodo. The two leaders’ relationship has since faced signs of strain, though neither has confirmed a rift. Widodo said he continued to support Prabowo’s leadership and described his son’s resignation as part of political dynamics.
Reid Bentley 
Nicole French