Indonesia vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka resignation, Digi Mart USA News: Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has submitted his resignation, an aide told the BBC, in a move that could further strain the political alliance that helped propel President Prabowo Subianto to power.
The resignation follows a ruling by Indonesia’s Supreme Court that a high-school document used during Gibran’s 2024 election campaign was invalid. The ruling prompted more than 100 lawmakers to support a parliamentary initiative that could have paved the way for impeachment proceedings against him.
The aide, Budi Arie, said Gibran’s resignation letter was submitted directly to Prabowo on Wednesday. It remains unclear whether it has been accepted.
Gibran has long faced controversy over whether his high school qualifications met the legal requirements to run for office. Having studied in Singapore and Australia, he had used an Indonesian equivalence certificate to demonstrate his educational credentials.
Indonesian law requires vice presidents to have completed senior secondary school or its equivalent, but the Supreme Court found no evidence that Gibran 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.
It also considered a Constitutional Court ruling from earlier in October that reached the same conclusion.
Gibran had previously argued that undertaking university education was sufficient proof that he had completed senior high school. On Tuesday, he asked for the chance to challenge the ruling and prove the legitimacy of his education credentials, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said.
Gibran’s candidacy in the 2024 election was part of an alliance between his father, outgoing president Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, and Prabowo, his former bitter rival. Gibran was 36 at the time and only became eligible for candidacy after a controversial Constitutional Court ruling exempted him from the minimum age requirement of 40.
His resignation comes as tensions between Jokowi and Prabowo appear to have flared. Since taking office, Prabowo has shown little interest in pushing ahead with Jokowi’s legacy project, the construction of Nusantara, a new capital.
Instead, he has focused much of the state’s resources on his own flagship free school meals programme.
In a series of personnel reshuffles over the past year, Prabowo has also moved many Jokowi loyalists into new roles, including long-serving finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Last week, authorities arrested presidential chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo, no relation, on suspicion of wiretapping the president.
Prabowo dismissed Listyo a day later, in what many pointed to as a sign of a crumbling alliance, as Listyo, a former national police chief, is widely considered a longtime ally of Jokowi.
Allegiances within the government also appear to be shifting. On Monday, three members of Prabowo’s cabinet collectively resigned from the party led by Kaesang Pangarep, Jokowi’s youngest son, citing their desire to focus on their duties in Prabowo’s administration.
The developments come during a turbulent period for Prabowo’s presidency. The free school meals programme is struggling for funding, parts of Indonesia have recently battled the country’s worst wildfires in a decade, and the national stock market faces crisis amid allegations of widespread market manipulation.
On Tuesday, students across the country staged demonstrations to protest the government’s handling of a range of issues, including the environmental crisis and corruption.
