Indonesia’s Vice President Gibran Submits Resignation to Prabowo

What changed

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto, an aide said on Wednesday. It is unclear whether Prabowo has accepted it.

The move follows Indonesia’s Supreme Court ruling that a high-school document used in Gibran’s 2024 election campaign was invalid. More than 100 lawmakers backed an initiative that could have led to impeachment proceedings.

Why it matters

This puts a formal break point into the alliance that carried Prabowo to the presidency. Gibran joined Prabowo’s ticket through a pact between his father, former president Joko Widodo, and Prabowo, once a bitter rival.

The dispute is about more than one document. Gibran’s candidacy became possible after a Constitutional Court ruling exempted him from the minimum age of 40. The Supreme Court later found no evidence that he had a qualifying foreign diploma or equivalency certificate, despite his argument that university study proved he had completed senior secondary education.

The political ground around Prabowo has already shifted. His government has shown little interest in advancing Jokowi’s Nusantara capital project, while concentrating resources on free school meals. Jokowi loyalists have been moved in personnel reshuffles, and his former ally Listyo Sigit Prabowo was arrested over alleged wiretapping of the president before being sacked a day later.

Three cabinet members also recently left the party led by Jokowi’s youngest son, saying they wanted to focus on their government duties. The resignation now leaves two basic questions open: whether Prabowo accepts it, and how the vice-presidency would be handled afterward.

The timing adds pressure. The school-meals programme is struggling for funding, wildfires have hit parts of Indonesia, the stock market is facing a crisis amid allegations of manipulation, and students have been demonstrating against the government. Whether Gibran’s resignation closes the Prabowo-Jokowi rupture or deepens it will depend on what Prabowo does next.