Indonesia’s vice president has resigned, aide says, stoking political uncertainty

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia‘s Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has resigned, an aide said on Wednesday, November 11, a move that threatens to split a key political alliance and risks further political uncertainty in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Gibran, the 39-year-old son of former President Joko Widodo, has come under intense scrutiny from lawmakers following Constitutional Court and Supreme Court rulings last month that his education documents did not meet election requirements.

The aide, Budi Arie Setiadi, told Reuters that Gibran had tendered his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto earlier on Wednesday.

Separately, two sources at the parliamentary upper house, which will oversee the process of approving his resignation and selecting a replacement, said that he would submit his resignation letter to the upper house on Thursday morning.

Neither Gibran’s office nor Prabowo’s office immediately responded to a request for comment.

Late on Wednesday, Prabowo gave a long speech at a political party event. He did not mention Gibran’s resignation.

The resignation comes amid growing signs of strain in the political alliance between Prabowo, a powerful former general, and Widodo, also known as Jokowi, a highly popular leader who twice defeated Prabowo for the presidency before giving him his support after facing term limits.

An open split could spark further instability for an administration hit by scandals over signature programmes, such as its free school meals policy, and doubts over its handling of the economy, political analysts say.

Investor sentiment has weakened towards Indonesia this year amid heightened scrutiny of the government’s fiscal plans and its broader policy directions, as well as lingering downgrade risks for its stock market by global index provider MSCI.

Last week, Prabowo fired his chief of staff, widely seen as a Jokowi loyalist, after he was arrested on accusations of bugging the president, among other figures.

Calls for impeachment

Gibran stated his intention to resign during a meeting with Prabowo on Tuesday.

The parliamentary upper house will have to convene a session to declare a vacancy following the submission of Gibran’s resignation letter, while writing a letter to the president requesting that he submit two names for his replacement, said senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

After that, the upper house would hold an election within 60 days.

Earlier on Wednesday, some 120 Indonesian lawmakers from across the political spectrum submitted a petition demanding Gibran’s impeachment, fuelling tensions around his political future.

Gibran “no longer meets the requirements as vice president as stipulated in Indonesia’s constitution,” said Mardani Ali Sera, one of the lawmakers who signed the petition.

Eligibility questions

Gibran faced complaints over whether his education credentials met legal requirements, and on Tuesday the Supreme Court said it was instructing the education ministry to withdraw Gibran’s education equivalence certificate, which the court has annulled.

Gibran, who studied abroad, used the certificate to comply with education requirements and run in the 2024 election, which he won alongside Prabowo.

Indonesian election law requires vice-presidential candidates to have completed senior high ​school or an equivalent level of education, but the court found that the certificate was issued based on evidence that did not actually prove Jokowi’s eldest son had graduated.

“No evidence was found to show Gibran had a foreign diploma or certificate that could serve as the basis for equivalency with a senior high school or equivalent qualification,” the court said in the ruling.

The Supreme Court also took into account the Constitutional Court’s ruling, which said Gibran’s education documents did not meet election requirements.

Gibran’s spot on the 2024 ticket was previously marred by ethics complaints after the Constitutional Court, headed at the time by his uncle, removed an age limit that would have prevented his candidacy.

Sana Jaffrey, a ⁠researcher at the Australian National University, said the crisis showed how the political fortunes of a small number of elites took precedence over the country’s need for effective and stable governance.

“Prolonged uncertainty at the highest levels of power will only deepen anxieties at home and abroad about where the country is headed,” she said. – Rappler.com