Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he had accepted Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s resignation following a dispute over educational qualifications. The announcement goes beyond the earlier expression of an intention to leave office. A separate account described delivery of a resignation letter, while lawmakers had sought proceedings to remove him.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto publicly announced that he had accepted the resignation of Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Prabowo said he accepted the decision with sadness. The announcement followed a dispute over whether the educational documents used for Gibran’s election candidacy satisfied the requirements for office. It came after Gibran had previously conveyed an intention to resign during a meeting with the president.[1]
An associate of Gibran told CNN Indonesia that he handed a resignation letter to Prabowo at Halim air base on Wednesday afternoon. That account concerned delivery of the letter, while the BBC reported the president’s subsequent public acceptance on Thursday. Both reports described parliamentary pressure over Gibran’s educational qualifications. Lawmakers had sought to begin a process that could remove him from office. The parliamentary proposal was delivered at a restricted meeting attended by two parliamentary leaders from NasDem and PKB.[1], [2]
The educational dispute involved rulings concerning documents used to demonstrate completion of secondary school or an equivalent qualification. CNN Indonesia described the Supreme Court invalidating an equivalency letter and a Constitutional Court assessment of overseas education records. Parliamentary groups argued that the findings undermined Gibran’s eligibility. Those objections were part of the campaign to initiate removal proceedings, alongside his own request to leave office.[1], [2]
Gibran is the son of former president Joko Widodo, whose political alliance with Prabowo helped bring the pair to office. A Constitutional Court exception to the minimum age requirement had allowed Gibran to run alongside Prabowo. His departure removes a prominent figure from that electoral partnership. Widodo remained an influential political figure, while further decisions about the vice-presidential office were still required. Gibran had been 36 when he joined the presidential ticket and was 39 at the time of the resignation dispute. The exception that enabled his candidacy had already prompted debate over family influence while his father held the presidency. The later court challenge focused on education rather than repeating that earlier age dispute. More than one hundred lawmakers supported the removal initiative. Prabowo’s acceptance came before the vice-president completed his term.[1], [2]
