Indonesian Vice-President Gibran resigns after rulings on school credentials
Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who studied in Singapore and Australia, has quit after courts found his school equivalency papers fell short, an aide says.
Indonesian Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has resigned, an aide said on Wednesday, after two courts found the documents he used to prove he had finished high school did not meet the legal requirement for the office.
The aide, Budi Arie Setiadi, said the resignation letter was handed to President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday. "Yes, it's true," he told The Straits Times. The BBC reported it was unclear whether Prabowo had accepted it. Gibran's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, CNA said.
Gibran, the son of former president Joko Widodo, studied in Singapore and Australia and used an Indonesian equivalence certificate to show his schooling, the BBC reported. The law requires vice-presidents to have completed senior secondary school or its equivalent. On October 30 the Supreme Court invalidated the certificate, less than a month after the Constitutional Court found insufficient evidence that his foreign schooling met the requirement.
Pressure in parliament built fast once it returned from recess. CNA reported that 50 lawmakers from six factions backed a motion on Tuesday that could lead to impeachment, and that 120 from eight factions had signed it by Wednesday. The Straits Times also put the number at 120, from all eight parties, and said the motion was due for approval at a plenary session on November 12. The BBC said more than 100 lawmakers supported it.
On Tuesday Gibran met Prabowo for two and a half hours and expressed an intention to resign, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said. Gibran later told reporters Prabowo had advised him to keep fighting, including by seeking a review of the Supreme Court ruling. Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the same day the rulings were final and "there is nothing more that can be done about them", The Straits Times reported.
Gibran, 39 according to CNA, became Indonesia's youngest vice-president after a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling allowed candidates under 40 to run if they had been elected as a regional head. The court was then led by his uncle by marriage, Anwar Usman, who was later removed as chief justice for not recusing himself, The Straits Times reported.
CNA and the BBC said the resignation comes amid a widening rift between Jokowi, as Widodo is known, and Prabowo. The BBC reported that Prabowo last week sacked his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, a long-time Jokowi ally, a day after authorities arrested him on suspicion of wiretapping the president. On Monday three cabinet members quit the party led by Jokowi's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep.
Two sources at the parliamentary upper house, which oversees approving a resignation and selecting a replacement, told Reuters that Gibran would submit his letter there on Thursday morning, CNA reported.
Sources: BBC News, Indonesia's vice president resigns amid signs ruling alliance is fraying; CNA, Indonesia's Vice-President Gibran has resigned, aide says; The Straits Times, Indonesian V-P Gibran resigns amid pressure from lawmakers.
