Arya News - In one of the most closely watched rulings, the court on Tuesday found no convincing evidence that Gibran holds a high school diploma required to run in 2024 but stopped short of disqualifying him from office and left any further assessment of his eligibility to other institutions.
JAKARTA – The fate of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka could now hinge on political parties in the House of Representatives after calls for his impeachment emerged after a Constitutional Court ruling found he lacked educational qualifications when he ran for office two years ago.
In one of the most closely watched rulings, the court on Tuesday found no convincing evidence that Gibran holds a high school diploma required to run in 2024 but stopped short of disqualifying him from office and left any further assessment of his eligibility to other institutions.
The ruling has since renewed questions over his eligibility to serve as vice president, adding to the controversies surrounding Gibran’s rise to the country’s second-highest office after he ran alongside President Prabowo Subianto with the tacit backing of Gibran’s father, former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Following the ruling, a push to remove Gibran from office began taking shape in the House, after a letter circulated widely on Wednesday urging the House to launch impeachment proceedings and investigate Gibran’s eligibility to serve as vice president. The letter was allegedly initiated by lawmaker Tonny Tesar of Nasdem Party.
The letter cited a provision in the Constitution allowing the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to remove a president or vice president from office following House proposal if they are found to have committed serious legal violations or no longer meet the requirements for holding office.
But Nasdem has now appeared to distance itself from the letter. Its senior politician Ahmad Sahroni dismissed it as a “hoax”, while deputy chairman Saan Mustofa said the party still has no official stance as it is still reviewing the ruling.
Meanwhile, several politicians from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Gibran’s former party and a longtime critic of his election bid, have called on the House to take a “firm follow-up”, despite the party itself having yet to take an official position on the ruling.
“There are only two options here. First, it would be better for Gibran to resign. If not, then the House should follow [the court ruling] with firm action [which could lead to] an impeachment,” PDI-P politician Komarudin Watubun said on Thursday.
Calls have also emerged for the House to investigate Gibran’s educational eligibility, with National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker Eko Widodo proposing a special committee to examine whether the vice president met the requirements and saying impeachment could be considered if the investigation found otherwise.
“If the committee proves that the diploma does not exist, the House can recommend and bring the matter before the Constitutional Court for adjudication, and it would then be submitted to the MPR for the impeachment process,” Eko said.
Senior Golkar Party politician Ahmad Doli Kurnia said the ruling would be followed by a “political process” and that “any further political decision following the ruling will depend heavily on the consensus of leaders of political parties in the House”, although he did not comment on his party’s position.
Addressing calls for Gibran’s impeachment, the government said it would leave the matter to the relevant institutions, with Deputy State Secretary Bambang Eko Suhariyanto saying the administration would “leave the matter to the existing mechanisms under applicable laws and regulations.”
Political analyst Arifki Chaniago believed that ongoing discourse on Gibran’s impeachment remained largely a form of political pressure, noting that the push would require broader support and greater consolidation among political parties in the House to progress further.
Should efforts to impeach Gibran later gain traction in the House, the vice president could find himself in a precarious position as he, who is not a member of any political party, would have no backing in the House, analyst Adi Prayitno said.
“Looking at the political landscape in the House, Gibran will essentially be up against everyone,” he said, while noting that the fate of the impeachment bid would hinge on “whether political parties agree to pursue it and whether it gains public support”.
As uncertainty over Gibran’s political future mounts, rumors have circulated on social media that he could announce his resignation on Friday afternoon, with Jokowi reportedly having relayed the information to Budi Arie Setiadi, the leader of the pro-Jokowi supporter group Projo.
Budi, who served in Prabowo’s cabinet until his ouster in September last year, on Thursday called the claim “hoax”.
Jokowi himself has responded to the possibility of his son’s impeachment, telling reporters that any such effort should “follow the democratic mechanisms available and comply with the Constitution and applicable laws”.
Asked about his Tuesday evening meeting with Prabowo, Jokowi said they discussed soccer, the economy and politics, without elaborating.