Indonesia’s vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, resigns after a court ruling on his school credentials

Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka resigned Thursday, and President Prabowo Subianto accepted the letter, according to the president’s office.  Gibran handed it to Prabowo at 10:15 a.m. at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, then took it to the People’s Consultative Assembly, the body that seats presidents and vice presidents.

Prabowo said the decision followed a legal ruling that Gibran had not fully met the requirements for office. On Wednesday, 120 lawmakers from eight parties had filed a petition that could have opened impeachment proceedings, the government’s communications agency said.

The requirement in question is schooling. Indonesia’s election law says presidential and vice presidential candidates must have finished senior high school or hold an equivalent qualification, CNA and ABC News reported. Gibran attended Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore and then UTS Insearch, a college in Sydney, Australia, that prepares mostly international students for university, before earning a bachelor’s degree through the Management Development Institute of Singapore, CNA reported. For his 2024 run he submitted a letter from Indonesia’s Education Ministry based on a certificate of attendance and a transcript from the Sydney college, not a graduation certificate, ABC News reported.

In an Oct. 6 ruling, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court said it found no convincing evidence that Gibran had a foreign diploma equal to finishing senior high school. The court said it could not remove him itself because he had already taken office and that other institutions had the power to decide his eligibility, according to CNA.

What happens next

Indonesia’s constitution says that when the vice presidency is empty, the assembly must meet within 60 days and pick a successor from two candidates the president nominates.  There is no public vote.

Prabowo thanked Gibran for his work and urged the public to stay calm.

Source:  Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia, Nov. 12, 2026; Government Communication Agency of Indonesia, Nov. 12, 2026; CNA, Oct. 7, 2026; ABC News (Australia), Oct. 7, 2026.