Constitutional Law Expert Warns Against Twisting the Constitution

Constitutional law expert Fritz Edward Siregar has stressed that the mechanism for dismissing a president and vice president is strictly regulated in the 1945 Constitution. He warned against any discourse on removing Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka that is built upon twisting the constitution or public pressure.

Siregar asserted that the President does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally dismiss the Vice President. Under Article 8 of the 1945 Constitution, the President and Vice President are a pair elected simultaneously by the people, meaning their relationship is not one of superior and subordinate.

“The President does not have the authority to dismiss the Vice President. Both are elected together by the people, so the President has no constitutional power to fire their deputy,” said Siregar, a former member of the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), in an explanation regarding the myth of impeachment and the finality of Constitutional Court rulings via his Instagram account @fritzsiregar, quoted on 13 August 2026.

Siregar also highlighted the interpretation of Article 7A of the 1945 Constitution, particularly the phrase ‘no longer meets the requirements’. He explained that this provision relates to conditions while a person is in office and cannot be applied retroactively to annul a candidacy process that has already been decided through legal mechanisms.

“That article applies to conditions during the term of office, not as a retroactive appeal mechanism to cancel candidacy disputes,” he said.

Regarding the debate over Constitutional Court Decision Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023, Siregar affirmed that the ruling remains valid and binding. He referred to Constitutional Court Decision Number 141/PUU-XXI/2023, specifically legal considerations 3.13.2 and 3.13.3, which uphold the principle of res judicata pro veritate habetur—that a court decision must be considered correct and has binding force.

“The Constitutional Court explicitly affirmed the principle of res judicata pro veritate habetur, that Decision 90 is de jure valid, binding, and the Court has no other choice but to comply with it,” Siregar stated.

He further added that issues regarding alleged violations in the nomination process had also been brought forward in the 2024 Presidential Election Results Dispute (PHPU). Therefore, according to Siregar, such matters should not be continuously revived as a basis for building an impeachment narrative.

For context, Siregar’s statement was made in response to calls from legal expert Denny Indrayana for Gibran to resign. Denny argued that Gibran should step down due to ethical issues, the controversy surrounding the nomination process linked to Constitutional Court Decision Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023, and as an honourable political move to prevent a crisis.