Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran hands resignation to parliament as Jokowi backs Prabowo

[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka handed his resignation to parliament’s upper house on Thursday (Nov 12), ending days of speculation on his political future.

Meanwhile, Gibran’s father, former president Joko Widodo, voiced support for current leader Prabowo Subianto.

“We will continue to support President Prabowo’s administration, especially programmes that serve the interests of the broader public,” Jokowi told reporters outside his home in the central Java city of Solo.

Scrutiny is growing over the Indonesian government’s fiscal plans and broader policy direction, while downgrade risks still linger for the stock market, with the rupiah weakening as much as 0.6 per cent to plumb a fresh record low of 18,248 against the US dollar.

Indonesia’s economy has not been disrupted by political developments, the government said on Thursday after the resignation. The government is operating normally, its communication office added.

Minutes before Jokowi’s remarks, Gibran arrived at parliament in Jakarta to meet its leaders for 20 minutes, handing in his resignation and asking parliament to process it, said Ahmad Muzani, the speaker of its upper house.

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Gibran made his decision “through my own volition ... for the interests of the government and nation”, Muzani told reporters while reading out the resignation letter.

Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Gibran quit for personal reasons and cited “growing public sentiment”, in the letter of just five paragraphs.

Quitting follows calls for impeachment

Gibran had also submitted a resignation letter to Prabowo, said Muzani, adding that he did not explain why he resigned.

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The 39-year-old was elected alongside Prabowo in a 2024 election.

His resignation followed a push by lawmakers for his impeachment on grounds of inadequate educational credentials.

It also followed rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court that his overseas high school qualifications fell short of legal requirements for vice-presidential candidates, and had been wrongly accepted by election authorities.

Two replacement candidates expected

Parliamentary leaders will now gather to discuss the next steps, Muzani said.

The upper house will have to hold a session to declare a vacancy after Gibran’s resignation, while sending the president a letter seeking the names of two replacement candidates, said Yusril said on Wednesday.

An upper house election will follow within 60 days.

On Thursday, police said they had enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects for wiretapping Prabowo, other politicians, activists and journalists.

At a hearing, lawmakers urged police chief Suyudi Ario Seto to uncover who ultimately ordered Listyo to conduct the alleged wiretapping, and the political interests that could be behind it. REUTERS