Indonesian Assembly Awaits Clarity on Gibran’s Reported Resignation

JAKARTA, Indonesianpost.com — Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s political future faces a critical test on Thursday, November 12, 2026, amid reports that he will submit his resignation to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR). Meanwhile, the House of Representatives (DPR) is preparing to bring a motion backed by 120 lawmakers to a plenary session. The two separate processes now converge on one question: whether Gibran will remain in office.

As of Wednesday night, November 11, there was no confirmation that Gibran had formally submitted a resignation letter to the MPR. Reports that the eldest son of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, would deliver the letter on Thursday had nevertheless circulated among lawmakers.

Sarifuddin Sudding, a House member from the National Mandate Party (PAN), was among those who said they had heard the reports.

“Yes, that is the information I have received,” Sudding told reporters on Wednesday night.

His remarks added to reports of Gibran’s planned resignation that had emerged earlier in the week.

A day earlier, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi confirmed that Gibran had expressed his intention to resign during a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the presidential palace on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The meeting lasted about two and a half hours.

Prasetyo said the meeting took place amid controversy over Gibran’s educational documents following rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

“During the discussion, the vice president expressed his intention to resign in response to developments relating to the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court rulings,” Prasetyo said.

Reports of Gibran’s resignation gained momentum on Wednesday evening.

Gibran reportedly met Prabowo again at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta after the president returned from a working visit to Aceh.

Budi Arie Setiadi, chairman of the pro-Jokowi organization Pro Jokowi, known as Projo, subsequently confirmed reports that Gibran had conveyed his resignation.

“That is correct,” Budi Arie said in a text message on Wednesday night.

That confirmation, however, left key questions unanswered. A vice president’s resignation requires more than communicating an intention to the president.

Confirmation of a formal letter and subsequent action under constitutional procedures was still needed.

Assembly Speaker Says He Has Not Seen a Letter

Amid the unfolding reports, MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani said he had received no official information about Gibran’s resignation.

Muzani made the remarks to reporters at NasDem Tower in Central Jakarta on Wednesday night.

“I have not heard anything, and I have not seen it,” he said.

Asked whether the MPR would immediately convene a special session if it received Gibran’s resignation letter, Muzani declined to give a definitive answer.

“I have not heard anything or seen it, so I cannot make a decision yet,” he said.

Muzani reiterated that he had no knowledge of the letter.

“I have not heard anything, and I have not seen it. I have not even heard about it, let alone seen it,” he said.

His comments underscored the gap between circulating political reports and a confirmed formal process at the MPR.

Attention on Thursday will therefore focus on whether Gibran submits a resignation letter and how the assembly responds if it receives one.

Lawmakers From All Eight Factions Back Motion

While confirmation of the resignation letter remained pending, a separate process was advancing in the House.

On Wednesday afternoon, House leaders received a proposal to exercise the chamber’s constitutional right to express an opinion, known in Indonesian as Hak Menyatakan Pendapat (HMP), concerning Gibran’s position. The proposal carried the signatures of 120 lawmakers from all eight factions.

The number substantially exceeded the minimum requirement for submitting such a proposal.

Deputy House Speaker Saan Mustopa said House leaders had checked the documents and tallied the signatures.

“Based on the documents we have reviewed, there are 120 signatories. That exceeds the minimum requirement under the applicable rules,” Saan said at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction contributed the largest number of signatories, with 28 lawmakers.

The NasDem Party faction provided 19 signatures. The National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Democratic Party contributed 18 each, followed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle with 14.

The Gerindra Party and Golkar Party factions each contributed 11 signatures, while PAN had one signatory.

Participation by members of all eight factions marked a significant development. A controversy previously debated largely in public had entered a formal parliamentary process through the motion.

House leaders scheduled the proposal for Thursday’s plenary agenda.

According to the agenda published by the House, the session includes an announcement of a proposal to exercise lawmakers’ constitutional rights. It does not constitute a final decision on Gibran’s removal.

Resignation Reports Do Not Halt Parliamentary Motion

Reports that Gibran planned to resign have not persuaded all of the motion’s proponents to stop pursuing it.

Mardani Ali Sera, who heads the PKS faction’s group on House Commission II, said the process would continue until Gibran’s resignation was finalized.

“The vice president is welcome to do what he needs to do. We in the House will continue pursuing the motion until the process is final. If the resignation has not been finalized, we will keep going,” Mardani said on Wednesday night.

Sudding took a similar position, saying the proposal received by House leaders would still be read out at the plenary session.

“I believe every letter submitted to the House through its leadership is still read out at a plenary session,” he said.

As of Wednesday night, however, lawmakers had given conflicting accounts of the session’s starting time.

Sudding said the plenary was scheduled for noon Western Indonesia Time, which is seven hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, meanwhile, said it was planned for 2 p.m. local time.

Dasco said he had not checked the agenda in detail because invitations had not yet been distributed.

“There is a plenary session planned for tomorrow at 2 p.m., if I am not mistaken. But as of now, the invitations have not been sent out,” Dasco said after attending the NasDem Party’s 15th anniversary event on Wednesday night.

The timing therefore remained subject to the House’s official schedule.

Supreme Court Ruling at the Center of the Dispute

The political developments stem from a dispute over Gibran’s educational documents.

In cassation ruling No. 742 K/TUN/2026, the Supreme Court annulled a certificate issued by the director general of primary and secondary education, No. 9149/D.D1/KS/2019, dated August 6, 2019.

The certificate had been used to establish that Gibran’s overseas education was equivalent to an Indonesian senior high school qualification.

In its reasoning, the Supreme Court said the overseas educational documents underlying the certificate did not establish that Gibran had completed a particular level of education.

The judges found that a certificate of attendance, academic records and an explanation of grades did not provide sufficient proof of graduation to support recognition of an equivalent qualification.

The ruling reinforced questions about the administrative requirements for Gibran’s candidacy that the Constitutional Court had previously raised in its reasoning.

However, annulment of the educational equivalency certificate does not automatically end Gibran’s tenure as vice president.

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra previously said Gibran remained in office unless he formally resigned or was removed through constitutional procedures.

“If he has not resigned and has not been removed, then he remains vice president,” Yusril said at the presidential palace complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

Nevertheless, Yusril acknowledged that the Supreme Court ruling presented a serious problem for Gibran.

“The issue is indeed serious when we read the Supreme Court ruling. My interpretation is that he effectively faces a choice: whether to resign or be removed. But let us see how developments unfold over the coming days,” he said.

Two Separate Constitutional Paths

If Gibran resigns, the process of filling the vice presidency would follow Article 8(2) of the 1945 Constitution.

The provision requires the MPR to convene within 60 days of a vacancy to elect a replacement from two candidates nominated by the president.

Yusril said the process required a written resignation addressed to the MPR.

“If he does not reject that course, there would need to be a written statement from the vice president addressed to the People’s Consultative Assembly,” he said.

That mechanism differs from removing a vice president during a term of office.

Articles 7A and 7B of the 1945 Constitution require a removal process initiated through the House to undergo examination and a ruling by the Constitutional Court before being referred to the MPR for a decision.

Gibran’s possible resignation and the parliamentary motion therefore represent separate processes with different procedural requirements.

For now, the MPR’s official response remains contingent on confirmation of the documents.

“I have not heard anything, and I have not seen it. I have not even heard about it, let alone seen it,” Muzani said on Wednesday night. [Inilah/Bilah]