What Gibran's resignation means for Prabowo's government

What is happening?

Gibran Rakabuming Raka has resigned as Indonesia's vice-president. Two courts found that the documents he used to show he had finished senior high school did not meet the legal requirement for the office. He gave his letter to President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday and tendered it to parliament on Thursday, the BBC reported.

Prabowo stood beside him and told reporters he had accepted the resignation with "a heavy heart". He praised the 39-year-old's "chivalrous attitude" and said the decision was "for the benefit of the nation, the state, and the people of Indonesia".

It all happened within days. On Tuesday Gibran said Prabowo had advised him to keep fighting in the courts. By Wednesday, 120 lawmakers from all eight parliamentary factions had signed a motion of opinion against him. The Straits Times called the motion the first formal step towards impeachment, and it was due for approval at a plenary session on Thursday.

How did school papers bring down a vice-president?

The case came down to whether Gibran's schooling abroad counted under Indonesian law. According to the BBC, he studied in Singapore and Australia and used an Indonesian equivalence certificate to show his credentials. The law requires a vice-president to have finished senior secondary school, or study of an equivalent level.

On October 6 the Constitutional Court rejected a petition by Denny Indrayana, a former law and justice minister, and 10 others because they lacked legal standing. In its reasoning, though, it said it had found no document showing Gibran had completed overseas schooling equivalent to senior high school. On October 30 the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by lawyer Subhan Palal and invalidated the certificate. "No evidence was found to show Gibran had a foreign diploma or certificate that could serve as the basis for equivalency," the court said, according to the BBC.

Gibran had argued that his university study was enough to prove he had completed high school. Prabowo said on Thursday that Gibran "certainly believes that he completed his education through a proper and structured process", but added: "we must understand that educational systems abroad differ from those in Indonesia." Two days earlier, Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra had said the rulings were final and "there is nothing more that can be done about them".

Gibran's eligibility had been challenged before. When registration for candidates opened in 2023 he was 36, four years short of the minimum age of 40. A 5-4 Constitutional Court ruling then allowed under-40s to run if they had been elected as a regional head, and Gibran had been elected mayor of Surakarta. The court was then led by Anwar Usman, who is Gibran's uncle through marriage. The Straits Times reported that Anwar was later removed as chief justice because he had not stepped aside from the case. No one questioned the certificate when it was lodged in October 2023.

Is Prabowo's government stable?

The resignation suggests strain at the top of the ruling alliance, although neither Prabowo nor Gibran's father, former president Joko Widodo, has confirmed a rift. CNA reported that Jokowi's support was instrumental in the Prabowo-Gibran ticket's 2024 win, which The Straits Times put at 58.8 per cent of the vote.

Since taking office, the BBC reported, Prabowo has shown little interest in Jokowi's new capital, Nusantara, and has moved many Jokowi loyalists into new roles, among them former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Last week he sacked his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, whom the BBC described as a long-time Jokowi ally. The sacking came a day after Listyo was arrested on suspicion of wiretapping the president. Then on Monday, three cabinet members quit the Indonesian Solidarity Party, which is led by Gibran's younger brother, Kaesang Pangarep. Jokowi said on Thursday that he still supported Prabowo's leadership. He called the resignation part of "political dynamics" and said he had told his son "the position was temporary".

The pattern suggests Prabowo is secure in parliament but under pressure elsewhere. CNA describes the legislature as overwhelmingly controlled by his "big tent" coalition, and every faction signed the motion against Gibran. Firman Noor of the National Research and Innovation Agency told The Straits Times that one reason lawmakers acted was a desire to distance themselves from Widodo. The BBC pointed to a free school meals program short of money, the country's worst wildfires in a decade, a share market facing allegations of widespread manipulation, and student protests. The Straits Times said polls have shown government approval falling since the end of 2025.

Australia has a direct link to the case, because some of the schooling the courts examined took place here. For Canberra, the open question is whether losing a vice-president, on top of the strain with Jokowi, makes the government in Jakarta less predictable while it faces these pressures at home.

What happens next?

Prabowo will nominate two candidates, and the upper house then has 60 days to choose one of them, the BBC reported. The vice-presidency stays vacant until that choice is made.

Prabowo's nominees will probably be read in Jakarta as a sign of where he now stands with the Jokowi camp. The reports do not yet say what will happen to the motion of opinion that was scheduled for Thursday's plenary session.

The Straits Times said Gibran faces an uncertain political future. His brother's party is trying to build support ahead of the 2029 elections, CNA reported, having failed to win a seat in the House of Representatives in 2019 or 2024.