Boni Hargens: Impeachment Would Be Highly Dangerous for the Constitutional System
Political analyst Boni Hargens has warned that impeaching Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka would pose serious dangers to the constitutional system and disrupt the stability of the government.
“But I will be frank here: taking steps towards impeachment is something that is extremely, extremely dangerous,” said Boni on the Head to Head programme broadcast by CNN Indonesia TV on Wednesday (7/10) evening.
Boni said that impeachment would be dangerous for the constitutional system because no president or vice president had previously been removed unilaterally. “This is a peculiar matter that has never happened before. There has not yet been a president or vice president, who was elected directly under the package system set out in the election law, who was dismissed unilaterally,” he said.
He did not, however, dispute that Articles 7A and 7B of the 1945 Constitution allow a president and/or vice president to be removed from office during their term. “Even though Articles 7A and 7B provide room for a president or vice president to be impeached unilaterally, it depends on which offence is violated under those articles,” he said.
Beyond the political questions, Boni argued that the more important consideration was the effect on international trust in Indonesia, which in turn would affect economic investment and the growth of democracy. “I believe the price we would have to pay for a process like this would be greater than any political gain. What is at stake is international trust in Indonesia, which will of course affect economic investment, and also trust in the growth of democracy in Indonesia,” he explained.
Boni also said Gibran should work to align the requirements with the diploma criteria in Indonesia. “In my view, the question is how to reconcile the existing requirements with the diploma criteria in the ministry. I am confident that the Ministry of Education knows how to make that alignment,” he said.
He noted that Gibran had already completed a university degree, so he should have valid secondary school documents. “The fact is that Mas Cawapres [Gibran] already holds a bachelor’s degree. If someone has a bachelor’s degree in a advanced country such as Singapore, there would certainly be valid junior and senior high school documents,” he said.
Boni stressed that this did not mean Gibran lacked a diploma. “So I do not believe that Mas Cawapres [Gibran] does not have a diploma equivalent to senior high school. It is simply that our model of equivalency may not yet be familiar. This is the task of the Ministry of Education, the equivalency regime,” he said.
The Constitutional Court read out its ruling on case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026, concerning the presidential and vice presidential election dispute for 2024, on Tuesday (6/10) evening.
The Court declared that the petitioners lacked legal standing and had no authority to disqualify Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Vice President of Indonesia.
The petitioners comprised the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP), the Ummat Party, former Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Denny Indrayana, six citizens affiliated with the Forum of Retired Military Personnel, M Subhan, Bonatua Silalahi, and Tiurma M.S. Sihombing.
Based on the facts revealed in the hearings, the Court found no documents showing that Gibran held a diploma proving he had completed education abroad equivalent to senior high school (SMA) or its equivalent.