JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s vice president resigned Thursday amid mounting questions. his eligibility for the position after recent court rulings challenged his credentials.
Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 39-year-old son of former President Joko Widodo, submitted his resignation as head of the People’s Consultative Assembly, the country’s highest legislative body, to Parliament in the capital, Jakarta.
Raka made no comment as he left the meeting.
“There will always be political dynamics in public service, that’s normal,” his father, Widodo, told reporters from his hometown of Solo, adding that he reminded his son that political office was temporary.
“We will continue to support President Prabowo’s government, especially programs that serve the interests of the general public,” he said.
The college degree survey was apparently unrelated to investigations into allegations that senior police officials had been involved in wiretapping targeting the president.
According to the Indonesian Constitution, a vice-presidential vacancy does not trigger new elections. The position remains vacant until the People’s Consultative Assembly elects a replacement from two candidates proposed by the president within 60 days.
Raka had offered to resign on Tuesday during a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto, saying he wanted to avoid a prolonged political controversy. But a minister said the president then urged Raka to defend himself and it was unclear whether he accepted the resignation offer.
The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court ruled last month that documents submitted by Raka regarding his studies abroad did not meet election requirements. A subsequent petition, submitted Wednesday to House leadership by 120 lawmakers from eight political parties, launched a parliamentary process that could have led to his impeachment.
The push for his impeachment was largely driven by long-standing allegations that Gibran’s candidacy was enabled by a judgment of the Constitutional Court which critics view as a conflict of interest and evidence of weak political accountability and dynastic privilege.
Before Prabowo chose him as his running mate for the 2024 election, Raka did not meet the 40-year-old age requirement for vice-presidential candidates. But the court’s controversial October 2023 ruling provided an exception allowing those who served or were elected regional leaders to run at a younger age.
Under Indonesian election law, a presidential or vice-presidential candidate must have completed high school or an equivalent level of education. Since Gibran completed his secondary education abroad, he had to provide documents proving that his qualifications were equivalent to an Indonesian secondary school diploma.
Raka was the first Indonesian vice president to resign before the end of a term since the fall of dictator Suharto and the start of the country’s democratic reforms in 1998.
Parliamentary leaders will meet immediately to begin the process of selecting a replacement, Speaker Ahmad Muzani said.
“We ask for the prayers and support of all Indonesians so that this democratic process can proceed smoothly and set a new constructive precedent in our constitutional system,” Muzani told reporters.
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AP journalists Edna Tarigan and Fadlan Syam contributed to this report.
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