Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation on Thursday, a day after the House of Representatives received a petition from more than 100 lawmakers seeking his impeachment. According to MPR speaker Ahmad Muzani, Gibran met parliamentary leaders for about 20 minutes, handed over a resignation letter and asked parliament to process it. He also gave a letter to President Prabowo Subianto.
Muzani read the five-paragraph letter aloud. In it Gibran said he made the decision of his own volition and for the interests of the government and the nation. Muzani said Gibran did not explain why he resigned. Senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Gibran cited personal reasons and growing public sentiment. The report used both House and MPR in describing the body that received the letter, so the exact body is slightly unclear.
What happens next
Parliamentary leaders will meet to discuss next steps. Yusril said the upper house must hold a session to declare a vacancy and send the president a letter asking for the names of two replacement candidates, and that an election for the post will follow within 60 days. The report did not say when the session will be held, and it carried no response from Prabowo.
The background
Gibran, 39, was elected alongside Prabowo in 2024. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court have ruled that his overseas high school qualifications did not meet the legal requirements for vice presidential candidates and were wrongly accepted by the election authorities. Former president Joko Widodo, Gibran's father, was accused of influencing a court decision that changed the election rules and allowed Gibran to run. Analysts call it Indonesia's highest-profile resignation since Soeharto's in 1998.
Speaking to reporters outside his home in Surakarta, Joko Widodo said the family will continue to support Prabowo's administration, especially programmes that serve the wider public. Analysts say the resignation could ease strain between Prabowo and Joko Widodo, although the rift had looked set to destabilise the government further. They point to a separate inquiry into illegal wiretapping by senior police officers, including former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is seen as a Joko Widodo loyalist. On Thursday police said they had enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects over the wiretapping of Prabowo, other politicians, activists and journalists.
Markets reacted. The rupiah weakened about 0.6 per cent to a record low of 18,255 to the dollar, and investors are watching the government's fiscal plans and policy direction. Downgrade risks for the stock market remain.
