Indonesia's vice president Gibran resigns hours before an impeachment hearing over his school diploma

Indonesia’s Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka resigned on Thursday, November 12, 2026, handing his letter to President Prabowo Subianto and to the leadership of parliament in Jakarta hours before the House of Representatives was due to take up a petition for his impeachment. At 39, he is the first directly elected vice president to leave office before the end of a five-year term, which he had served for two years.

The petition, signed on Wednesday by 120 lawmakers from eight parties, accused him of failing to meet the education requirement for the post. His resignation effectively ends that process.

What the dispute was about

Indonesian election law requires a vice-presidential candidate to have completed senior high school or an equivalent. Petitioners argued that the document Gibran submitted before the 2024 election was a Ministry of Education supporting letter, based on a certificate of attendance and a transcript from UTS College in Sydney (formerly UTS Insearch), and not a graduation certificate.

In October the Constitutional Court said it had found no convincing evidence of a foreign diploma equal to a high school certificate, in the words of judge Adies Kadir. The Supreme Court then ruled that a high school equivalency certificate he had obtained was invalid. Those rulings fed the calls in parliament for his removal.

The days before the resignation

On Tuesday, November 10, Gibran met Prabowo for two and a half hours, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said. Afterwards Gibran said he respected public criticism and did not want “the current situation to become a prolonged political controversy”. A cabinet minister said Prabowo had urged him to defend himself, so it was unclear for a day whether his offer had been accepted.

On Thursday, Prabowo accepted at a joint press conference. “With a heavy heart, I accept the letter and fully respect and support his decision,” he said, calling the step “statesmanlike”. He noted that Gibran had visited 35 of Indonesia’s 38 provinces, 149 districts and cities, and inspected government projects at 303 sites.

How the resignation came about

1. October 2026Constitutional Court finds no convincing evidence of a qualifying diploma; Supreme Court later voids his equivalency certificate
2. November 10, 2026Gibran meets Prabowo for two and a half hours
3. November 11, 2026120 lawmakers from eight parties petition House leaders to begin impeachment
4. November 12, 2026Gibran submits his resignation to Prabowo and parliament

Reaction from Gibran’s father

His father, former president Joko Widodo, 65, said political positions are temporary and that he had told his son so. He pledged continued support for Prabowo’s government. Jokowi backed Prabowo in the 2024 campaign by allowing his son to run as the vice-presidential candidate, and the pair won decisively. Relations have since frayed.

Last week, former national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo and other senior officers were detained over alleged wiretapping of the president and other figures. Listyo is widely seen as a Jokowi ally. A presidential spokesperson described the alleged acts as possibly tending towards treason; the allegations are under investigation, and reports say the diploma case appears unrelated.

Who replaces him

The Constitution does not call a fresh election for the vacancy. Prabowo must nominate two candidates within 14 days, according to reports, and the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) must then vote within 60 days. The candidate with the most votes wins; a tie goes to a second round and, if it persists, the president chooses. MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani said the leadership would meet first and then hold a joint meeting with faction leaders and the Regional Representatives Council.

Names mentioned in reports include House Speaker Puan Maharani of the PDIP, former foreign minister Sugiono and deputy House speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad. No nomination has been announced.

Gibran began in politics as a PDIP member and won the mayoralty of Solo, but ran with Prabowo in 2024 against his old party and was later expelled from it.

A government under pressure

The resignation comes in weeks of street protests in several cities over economic hardship, corruption, concerns about authoritarianism, and the handling of months of wildfires whose toxic haze has made thousands ill. Our earlier reports covered the haze that grounded flights to Singapore and the fall in Jakarta shares of more than 11% on October 16. Prabowo remains president with his term unaffected.

What it means for India

Indonesia is one of India’s partners in Southeast Asia, and the working relationship runs through Prabowo, who stays in office. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a state visit to Indonesia from July 6 to 8, 2026, and held talks with Prabowo at Istana Merdeka in Jakarta on July 7. The joint statement welcomed defence cooperation including the BrahMos missile system, an air-to-air missile cooperation agreement, a proposed Sabang port partnership, a joint venture between SAIL and Krakatau Steel to explore a stainless-steel plant, and the launch of the Indonesia Open Network, built on India’s ONDC architecture.

Prabowo had been chief guest at India’s Republic Day in January 2025. The joint statement does not mention any role for the vice president, and nothing in it depends on the post. Modi is due in Manila for the ASEAN-India summit from November 16 to 18.

What happens next

Prabowo’s two nominees are due by about November 26, and the MPR vote must follow within 60 days of the resignation, which is by about January 11, 2027. The House impeachment committee, which would have examined whether Gibran violated the constitution and could have referred the matter to the Constitutional Court, is no longer expected to proceed now that he has left the post.