Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has offered to resign, the presidential palace said on Tuesday, 10 November, as lawmakers prepare a motion of opinion over doubts about his eligibility for office. The motion could open the way to impeachment proceedings.
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told a press conference at the palace that Gibran conveyed his intention to step down during a meeting of about two and a half hours with President Prabowo Subianto earlier in the day. Prasetyo, a Gerindra Party politician, tied the offer to two recent court decisions. The Supreme Court annulled the validity of the education certificate Gibran used for his 2024 vice-presidential candidacy. The Constitutional Court, for its part, found no convincing evidence that his education abroad met the minimum high-school qualification needed to run.
Status unclear
It is not clear whether Gibran formally submitted a resignation or whether Prabowo accepted one. Prasetyo denied reports that Prabowo had turned down the request. He said the president had instead offered advice, and that Gibran asked for time to prove his documents are valid through proceedings at the Jakarta State Administrative Court. Gibran was later seen with Prabowo at the Merdeka Palace, where the president conferred national hero status on 19 people, among them his own grandfather, Margono Djojohadikusumo.
Other reports say the Supreme Court's decision, dated 30 October, did not by itself remove Gibran from office or end his mandate, and that its written judgment was released on 10 November. They also note that neither ruling established that a diploma was forged or that he never finished secondary school.
Pressure in parliament and on the street
In the House of Representatives, the PDI-P faction is pursuing a motion of opinion under Articles 7A and 7B of the Constitution, the route that can lead to impeachment. Local media report that more than 100 lawmakers have signed a petition to that effect, to be handed to the House speaker, and that one lawmaker has said Gibran has no choice but to resign or be removed. Ministers have reportedly left the Indonesian Solidarity Party, which is linked to former president Joko Widodo, as the House prepares to decide. Protesters have called for his resignation, including at a demonstration on 20 October marking two years of the Prabowo-Gibran administration.
Gibran is the son of former president Joko Widodo. What happens next depends on three things: whether a formal resignation letter is filed, whether the House formally declares its opinion, and whether the administrative court case buys him time. Reactions from Gibran himself and from legal experts were not available when this report was compiled.
