Gibran Resigns as Indonesia’s Vice-President After Diploma Ruling
Indonesian Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka resigned on November 11 after the Supreme Court found he entered university without finishing high school. His exit comes as President Prabowo Subianto and Gibran's father, Joko Widodo, fall out, with the police chief's arrest raising fears of a security-force rivalry.
Indonesia's vice-president resigns, escalating a destabilising feud: Gibran Rakabuming Raka stepped down on November 11 after the Supreme Court ruled he had entered university without completing high school. His exit coincides with the collapse of the partnership between President Prabowo Subianto and Gibran's father, former president Joko Widodo.
On paper, the issue is eligibility. Indonesia's electoral law requires a vice-president to hold a secondary-school diploma or its equivalent. Gibran, elected in 2024, has a university degree, but the court ruled on October 30 that he got into university without finishing high school.
In the days that followed, more than 120 members of parliament called for his impeachment. Gibran resigned before he could be removed.
A partnership unravels
Widodo, known as Jokowi, beat Prabowo in bitter presidential elections in 2014 and 2019 and then led the country for ten years. The two later reconciled. A term-limited Jokowi offered his son as Prabowo's running mate in 2024, and the joint ticket won easily.
That stability has frayed in recent months. Markets and voters turned against Prabowo's populist economic policies, and the relationship between the president and his predecessor came under strain.
The break came on November 3, when police arrested Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is no relation to the president. He had just stepped down as the country's top police officer.
Authorities allege he used the force's wiretapping powers to snoop on the president's communications.
Ties to Jokowi
Listyo owed his job to Jokowi. He was police chief of Solo, a small city in Central Java, when Jokowi was its mayor, and rose rapidly after Jokowi became president.
Authorities have not said Listyo bugged Prabowo at Jokowi's behest. The links between the two men have nonetheless raised suspicions among those close to the president.
Under Listyo, police filed frivolous charges against critics of Jokowi's administration and broke up peaceful protests.
Army versus police
Jokowi leaned on the police partly because soldiers have long been more sympathetic to Prabowo, a former army special-forces commander. The two forces have had a sometimes bloody rivalry since the police were separated from the army in 1999.
One risk is that each leader turns to loyal units to gain an edge over the other, raising tensions between two large armed groups. There are early signs of it. On the evening of Listyo's arrest, Prabowo ordered 21,000 troops to deploy urgently to Jakarta.
Choosing a successor
Parliament must now fill the three years left in Gibran's term. In the coming days the president will nominate two candidates, and parliament will elect one as vice-president.
Prabowo has a docile chamber and will certainly get his pick. A high-school diploma will be required this time, and so will unquestioning loyalty.
