Indonesia's Vice President Gibran Resigns, Aide and Upper House Sources Say

Update: Gibran resigns on November 11

Indonesia's vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, has resigned, his political aide Budi Arie Setiadi told Reuters on Wednesday. Gibran tendered his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto earlier on Wednesday, November 11, Setiadi said. Two political sources at the parliamentary upper house also said he had resigned.

The upper house sources said Gibran would submit his resignation letter to the upper house on Thursday morning, November 12. Senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the upper house will have to convene a session to declare a vacancy and will write to the president requesting that he submit two names for a replacement.

Neither Gibran's office nor Prabowo's office immediately responded to a request for comment, Reuters reported. Late on Wednesday, Prabowo gave a long speech at a political party event and did not mention Gibran's resignation, Reuters reported.

The resignation follows the intention Gibran stated in his meeting with Prabowo on Tuesday, reported in full below.

Indonesia's vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, expressed his intention to resign during a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said. The two men met for about two and a half hours on Tuesday morning.

Hadi said the president did not decline the vice president's request to resign. He also corrected reports that Prabowo had rejected the intention during the meeting, saying those reports were untrue.

"During the discussion, the vice president expressed his intention to resign in light of the evolving situation," Hadi said.

No written resignation, effective date or formal vacancy in the vice presidency was announced on Tuesday. Gibran's statement remains an intention to resign, not an effective departure from office, and he stays in the post unless a formal process follows.

Eligibility fight reaches parliament

Parliament reconvened on Tuesday with lawmakers weighing a possible probe into Gibran's eligibility. The dispute follows rulings last month by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court that the education documents he submitted did not meet election requirements. The Constitutional Court said it did not have the power to disqualify him.

A Supreme Court decision, number 742 K/TUN/2026, was issued on October 30 and published on Tuesday. It declared void the government education equivalence letter for Gibran's senior high school certificate, a letter first issued on August 6, 2019. Lawmakers have been looking into launching an inquiry into the issue, a step analysts believe could be the first move toward impeachment.

House Speaker Puan Maharani said many opinions on Gibran's eligibility had been received during a one-month recess and that next steps would be discussed. "We will listen to inputs from the parties in parliament," she told reporters. Asked about a possible resignation, she said: "We should not speculate."

Gibran asks to defend his documents in court

Gibran asked for an opportunity to prove the validity of his education documents through proceedings at the State Administrative Court, known in Indonesia as the PTUN. Prabowo offered advice during their discussion, according to the palace account carried by Jawawa.

A partnership under strain

Gibran, 39, is the son of former two-term president Joko Widodo and helped Prabowo win the 2024 election by a huge margin. He had kept a low profile as vice president, and his appearances together with Prabowo have been infrequent in their first two years in office. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the eligibility dispute has widened a political rift between Widodo and Prabowo, who twice lost to Widodo before winning with his son on the ticket in 2024.