Indonesia's VP Gibran resigns after court rules school certificate invalid

Indonesia's vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, has resigned two years into his term after courts ruled that the school certificate he used to run for office in 2024 could not be backed up. The 39-year-old, the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo, handed his resignation letter to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and to President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday (12 November).

The trouble began with Gibran's high school equivalency certificate. On 30 October, Indonesia's Supreme Court declared the certificate null and void and ordered the education ministry to revoke it. It found nothing to show Gibran held a foreign diploma that could be the basis for an equivalence to Indonesian high school, only evidence that he had attended classes. The ruling followed an earlier Constitutional Court decision, which found “no convincing evidence” he had a diploma from abroad showing he had finished high school, but said it could not annul the 2024 election result.

Pressure then built quickly. On Wednesday, 120 lawmakers from all eight parties in the House of Representatives signed a proposal for a motion of opinion that could lead to impeachment proceedings. Gibran had met Prabowo for two and a half hours on Tuesday and, afterwards, said the president had advised him to keep fighting the case, including by seeking a judicial review. By Thursday morning he had submitted his resignation.

Prabowo said he accepted the letter “with a heavy heart” and called Gibran's decision an honourable one, taken to avoid further controversy over his credentials. AP reported that Gibran, in a video statement, rejected suggestions that the resignation was linked to questions about his educational background.

Under Article 8 of the Indonesian constitution, the MPR must meet within 60 days to choose a new vice president from two names nominated by Prabowo. Analysts quoted by CNA say the episode has widened the rift between Prabowo and Widodo, whose backing helped the Prabowo-Gibran ticket win in 2024. Widodo said on Thursday that he had told Gibran “positions are temporary”.