Gibran Submits Resignation to Prabowo

Gibran Rakabuming Raka has reportedly expressed an intention to resign as Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the eldest son of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo, conveyed his intention to President Prabowo Subianto at a meeting earlier today.

“Regarding whether there was a meeting between the President and Vice-President this morning, we can confirm to the public that the Vice-President did meet the President,” Prasetyo said at a press conference at the Palace on Tuesday (10 November).

“The meeting lasted about two and a half hours. During the discussion, the Vice-President told the President that he intended to resign in response to the developing situation concerning the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court,” Prasetyo added.

“But we also need to clarify that it is not true that the President rejected this intention during the meeting. The President offered a great deal of advice during their discussion, and the Vice-President asked to be given the opportunity to prove the validity of the documents he holds through proceedings at the State Administrative Court.”

Gibran’s move to submit his resignation comes amid mounting political pressure in parliament.

A total of 50 MPs representing six parliamentary factions have backed a proposal to exercise the right of opinion, seeking to follow up on the controversy over Gibran’s diploma, which has been addressed in rulings by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court found that Gibran’s certificate of equivalency for senior secondary school, which he used to meet the requirements for registering in the 2024 presidential election, was invalid.

The ruling affirmed an earlier Constitutional Court decision, which said it had found no documentary evidence that Gibran had completed an equivalent senior secondary qualification in Singapore or Australia.

In response to the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court rulings, the House of Representatives proposed exercising its right of opinion, as provided for under the law governing the People’s Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council and Regional Legislative Councils (MD3 Law).

The right covers three matters, one of which is alleged legal violations by the President and/or Vice-President. These include treason, corruption, bribery, other serious crimes, disgraceful conduct, or no longer meeting the eligibility requirements for the presidency or vice-presidency.

Gibran has responded to the Constitutional Court ruling concerning the controversy over his diploma. He said that if he had not completed senior secondary school, he would not have been able to attend university.

“If I hadn’t completed senior secondary school, I wouldn’t have been able to go to university. I studied up to bachelor’s degree level in Singapore,” Gibran said on Wednesday (7 October).