Prabowo on Impeachment: No Problem As Long As It Follows the Mechanism
President Prabowo Subianto has stated that he has no problem with the discourse on impeachment or the impeachment of the president. However, he said, the mechanism must follow Indonesia’s democratic procedures.
Prabowo discussed his views during a speech at a working meeting with ministry officials, institutions, and state-owned enterprises at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, 8 April 2026. The Gerindra Party Chairman initially discussed the consensus in Indonesia that chooses democracy as the system of state.
Prabowo said that the agreement to practise democracy has been reached since the era of the nation’s founders. “So, brothers and sisters, in conditions like this, we always hold firmly to the major consensuses. We have chosen to govern democratically. Democracy, sovereignty in the hands of the people. There is no problem,” said Prabowo in his speech.
In a democratic system, he said, a government deemed not good can be replaced. The way, Prabowo stated, is through good and peaceful mechanisms via general elections.
In addition, he said, another mechanism to replace the government in democracy is through impeachment. “It can also be through impeachment, no problem. But impeachment must go through the proper channels,” said the former defence minister.
In the impeachment mechanism, Prabowo stated that various branches of power must be involved. These include examination at the Constitutional Court, approval by the People’s Representative Council, and decision-making by the People’s Consultative Assembly. “There are channels for it,” said Prabowo.
Prabowo highlighted that several Indonesian presidents have stepped down through the impeachment mechanism. Among them are the First President Soekarno and the Fourth President Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur. Prabowo also mentioned the Second President Suharto, who resigned after a series of demonstrations in 1998, stepping down peacefully.
The impeachment issue had previously been widely discussed after the founder of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), Saiful Mujani, stated that the way to save Indonesia is by toppling President Prabowo Subianto.
Saiful made the statement during a halal bihalal event titled “Before Observers Are Regulated” at Beranda Utan Kayu on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. The event was held as a space for networking and a discussion forum for observers from various backgrounds. Besides Saiful Mujani, the event was attended by Feri Amsari, Islah Bahrawi, and Ubedilah Badrun.
Saiful was the closing speaker at the forum. At that time, Saiful said that President Prabowo is not presidential. According to him, Prabowo is no longer receptive to advice for improvements.
“If advising Prabowo doesn’t work either. The only way is to topple him. That is saving, not saving Prabowo, but saving ourselves and this nation,” said Saiful.
According to Saiful, the way to “topple” Prabowo cannot be done through formal procedures such as impeachment via the People’s Consultative Assembly on the proposal of the People’s Representative Council. For him, the only way is for the public to consolidate to topple Prabowo. “In my opinion, the alternative is not through formal impeachment procedures like that. That won’t work,” said Saiful.
Saiful Mujani’s statement was addressed by several parties, one of which is Hasan Nasbi. The former Head of the Presidential Office assessed that the statement has the potential to create provocation.
According to him, the statement is inappropriate to convey amid the current global conditions. Hasan assessed that there is a tendency to topple a legitimate government without going through democratic processes. “They claim to be democracy fighters, but they never want to understand the essence of democracy,” said Hasan in his statement, citing Antara on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.
Hasan opined that provocative actions to impeach a legitimate government without constitutional processes constitute a violation of democracy. According to him, what Saiful Mujani did by inviting the public to topple Prabowo is based on personal feelings.
Saiful then denied committing treason against President Prabowo Subianto as a result of his statement at the halal bihalal event with several observers. He said his statement was a political stance and participation expressed in front of many people. “The politics in that event mainly relates to President Prabowo’s performance,” he said in his statement on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.
Saiful said his statement should be interpreted as a peaceful action. He stated that political participation is often aimed at the public interest in various forms.