Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has offered to resign, a move that could further strain the alliance that brought President Prabowo Subianto to power.[1][2] It was not clear whether Prabowo had accepted.
Related: Prabowo Wiretap Scandal Widens as Police Name a Fourth Senior Officer.
How it unfolded
Accounts of the timing differ. State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi said Gibran offered to resign during more than two hours of talks with Prabowo on Tuesday, Nov. 10, NPR reported.[2] An aide, Budi Arie, told the BBC that Gibran submitted a resignation letter directly to Prabowo on Wednesday.[1]
Prabowo advised Gibran to “continue pursuing legal avenues to defend the validity of his academic documents,” Hadi said.[2]
“I do not want the current situation to become a prolonged political controversy,” Gibran told reporters, without addressing the resignation offer.[2]
The diploma dispute
Indonesia’s Supreme Court ruled that a high-school document used in Gibran’s 2024 campaign was invalid.[1] The law requires vice presidents to have completed senior secondary school or its equivalent. Gibran, who studied in Singapore and Australia, used an Indonesian equivalence certificate.
The ruling led more than 100 lawmakers to back a parliamentary move that could have opened impeachment proceedings.[1]
A fraying alliance
Gibran is the son of former President Joko Widodo, who backed Prabowo’s 2024 run after Prabowo chose Gibran as his running mate.[2] Tensions between the two camps have grown.
Last week, authorities arrested presidential chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo on suspicion of wiretapping the president, and Prabowo fired him a day later.[1] Listyo, a former national police chief, is widely seen as a longtime Widodo ally. The resignation offer apparently was not related to the wiretap probe.[2]
More coverage is in our Asia-Pacific section.
Sources
- BBC News: Indonesia’s vice president resigns amid signs ruling alliance is fraying
- NPR: Indonesia’s VP offers resignation as questions mount over his eligibility
Read next in Asia-Pacific
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