Indonesia’s Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka told President Prabowo Subianto he intends to resign amid a challenge to his 2024 election qualifications.
What led to the dispute
On November 10, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said Gibran told Prabowo he intended to resign. Their meeting lasted about two and a half hours. Hadi said Prabowo offered advice but did not reject the intention; the government has not said whether it accepted. Gibran asked for a chance to prove his documents in court. He remained vice president as of November 11.
In October 2023, the Constitutional Court kept the minimum candidate age at 40 but exempted elected regional leaders, letting 36-year-old Surakarta mayor Gibran join Prabowo’s ticket. The court’s ethics council found Chief Justice Anwar Usman, Gibran’s uncle by marriage, committed a serious ethical violation by taking part; the ruling remained in force.
What the courts decided
The latest challenge concerns education, not age. Election law requires candidates to complete senior high school or its equivalent. A Ministry of Education equivalency certificate issued in 2019 accepted Gibran’s overseas studies for candidacy.
On October 6, 2026, the Constitutional Court said the record had no convincing evidence of a foreign qualification equivalent to high school. It dismissed the petition because the challengers lacked the legal right to bring it and said it could not disqualify someone already sworn in. On October 30, the Supreme Court annulled the certificate in an administrative case. That voided the certificate but did not remove Gibran from office.
Why his next step is unclear
Gibran says he wants to step aside while finding a legal way to establish his qualifications. He has said he does not want a prolonged political dispute. His intention remains unresolved, and Prabowo’s reported advice to pursue the legal route did not say publicly whether Gibran should stay or go.
Former president Joko Widodo, Gibran’s father, helped Prabowo win in 2024, making Gibran a link between their political camps. Reports describe Prabowo-Jokowi relations as increasingly strained. About 50 lawmakers from six factions signed a proposal for the House to use its right to express an opinion on the dispute. The House speaker said leadership would consider it; it is not a House decision.
What could happen next
The lawmakers’ proposal could lead toward impeachment, but signatures alone do not remove a vice president. The Supreme Court ruling also does not settle whether voiding the certificate affects a mandate won in a completed election.
The key questions are whether Gibran formally resigns and lawmakers advance the proposal. If he resigns, the People’s Consultative Assembly would elect a replacement from two candidates proposed by the president within 60 days, putting succession bargaining and Prabowo-Jokowi ties under pressure. If he stays, legal and parliamentary questions continue.