VerorbisWhat changed this week
Politics Indonesia

Indonesia's vice president offers to step down

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto on Nov 11, after the Supreme Court annulled a school certificate he used to run in 2024. The same day, 120 lawmakers began a parliamentary challenge to his eligibility that could lead to impeachment.

Confidence: medium. The Oct 30 ruling and the House parties' deliberations are reported consistently by Bloomberg, The Jakarta Post, the Jakarta Globe and Indonesia Business Post. The resignation offer rests on one official's account, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi's, which AP, Reuters and the Jakarta Globe all cite; Gibran's own public remarks that day did not mention it, and whether a formal resignation exists is unclear. · Updated 11 Nov 2026, 2pm ET

Open the full analysis and map

Why it matters: Gibran is the son of Joko Widodo, who beat Prabowo in the 2014 and 2019 elections before backing him, and his place on the 2024 ticket helped Prabowo win by a huge margin, according to Reuters. source

What's happening

Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 39, son of former president Joko Widodo, became vice president in October 2024 as Prabowo Subianto's running mate, a pairing Reuters says was widely seen as a deal that lent Prabowo Widodo's popularity. His candidacy was disputed from the start: in 2023 the Constitutional Court, then led by his uncle, cleared him to run although he was under the minimum age of 40, and an ethics panel later found the chief justice had a conflict of interest. In early October 2026 the Constitutional Court threw out a petition to unseat him because the petitioners lacked standing, while saying it saw no convincing evidence of a foreign high school diploma. On Oct 30 the Supreme Court granted a lawyer's appeal and annulled the 2019 education ministry certificate that recognized his overseas schooling as equal to an Indonesian high school diploma, which he had submitted in its place to register for the 2024 election (Bloomberg; Indonesia Business Post). The ruling does not remove him by itself; removal would need separate constitutional proceedings. House parties, including members of Prabowo's coalition, which holds a large majority, have weighed an inquiry, an interpellation or a formal statement of opinion, the last of which can open impeachment (The Jakarta Post). On Nov 10 State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said Gibran told Prabowo in a meeting of more than two hours that he intended to resign; Prasetyo said Prabowo did not reject the offer but did not say he accepted it, and said Gibran asked for a chance to prove his documents at the State Administrative Court. Gibran said Prabowo had urged him to 'fight' to prove his credentials and that he would appeal. Reuters and AP describe a widening rift between Prabowo and Widodo, including a probe into alleged wiretapping of the president that involves a former national police chief who served under Widodo; AP says the offer was apparently unrelated to that probe.

What changed recently

Key figures

At least 50, from six party factionsHouse lawmakers backing a formal statement of opinion on GibranIndonesia Business Post · 2026-11-10 · source
About two and a half hoursLength of Gibran's Nov 10 meeting with PrabowoState Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe · 2026-11-10 · source
2019, annulled by the Supreme Court on Oct 30, 2026Year the annulled high school equivalency certificate was issuedBloomberg, via The Star · 2026-10-30 · source

What experts say

Their views, summarized in our words.

Sources