Government

Calls for Impeachment of Vice President Gibran After Court Rulings

Political parties and civic groups in Jakarta have called for Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's impeachment after Supreme Court and Constitutional Court rulings on an education certificate used in the 2024 presidential election.

Redaksi Kanal PolitikNovember 10, 2026 at 04:15 PM WIB3 min read

Desakan Pemakzulan Wapres Gibran Pascaputusan MK dan MA

Political parties and civic groups in Jakarta on Monday, 9 November 2026, called for the impeachment of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka after the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung, MA) and the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi, MK) issued rulings on the education-equivalence certificate he used in registering for the 2024 presidential election, as reported by CNN Indonesia.

According to the report, the Supreme Court granted Muhammad Subhan Palal's lawsuit on Friday, 30 October 2026, over a certificate equating education to senior high school level. Decision No. 742 K/TUN/2026 overturned an earlier court ruling and found that the certificate was not valid for use as a registration requirement.

Earlier, the Constitutional Court in Decision No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 said it had not obtained sufficiently strong evidence that Gibran held a diploma, certificate or foreign diploma that could be equated with at least senior high school education. The court found that the petitioner lacked legal standing and therefore rejected the petition, while stressing that its finding was not a basis to cancel Gibran's status as vice president.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said parliament had received many proposals from parliamentary factions and civic organisations ahead of a plenary session on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. NasDem party chairman Surya Paloh said impeachment could proceed if constitutional requirements were met and no other path remained. Golkar lawmaker Ahmad Doli Kurnia proposed the DPR's right to express opinion (Hak Menyatakan Pendapat), while PDIP and PKS backed the same mechanism. The Aliansi Rakyat Menggugat protest group demonstrated outside Istana Wakil Presiden, the Vice Presidential Palace, and the Forum Kebangsaan DIY, or National Forum of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, removed a photo of Gibran from the Badan Anggaran (budget committee) room of the DPRD DIY, the regional parliament of the Special Region of Yogyakarta.

Constitutional mechanism for vice presidential impeachment

Removing a vice president is not a process that can be carried out by a single institution. Under Indonesia's constitutional system, the president and vice president are elected as a single ticket, so their removal requires a constitutional mechanism involving the DPR, the Constitutional Court and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The DPR can propose a removal to the MPR if there is suspicion of certain legal violations or if office requirements are no longer met.

Before such a proposal reaches the MPR, the Constitutional Court must examine, adjudicate and give an opinion on whether the DPR proposal meets constitutional and legal grounds. The MPR can then hold a session with the quorum and decision requirements set by the constitution. That means a court finding or a judicial ruling does not automatically remove the vice president unless the political and legal process is completed. In reporting cases involving public office, the press is bound by the presumption of innocence; a person who has not been convicted cannot be described as guilty. A first-instance court ruling is also not automatically final and binding.

In parliament, the right to express opinion differs from the right to interpellate (hak interpelasi) and the right to conduct an inquiry (hak angket). The right to interpellate is used to seek an explanation from the government, while the right to conduct an inquiry is used to investigate government policy. The right to express opinion can open a path for the DPR to deliver a political and legal assessment of a state matter, including a proposal to remove a state official. Its use, however, depends on consensus across factions and sufficient support from members.

The controversy over diplomas or education certificates also touches the formal requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidates. The Election Law (Undang-Undang Pemilu) sets the minimum education level as senior high school graduation or equivalent. The debate therefore does not stop at the education document itself, but also concerns how that document is judged valid or invalid in an election process that has already been completed.

What the public should watch

For readers in Indonesia, talk of impeaching the vice president is likely to affect government stability more directly than commodity prices or everyday services. But political uncertainty can shape the legislative agenda, executive-legislative relations and public trust in state institutions. If the process moves forward, policies being drafted or promised by the government may change pace as political elites adjust their positions.

What matters is whether a proposal to use the right to express opinion actually enters the DPR mechanism, whether factions reach agreement, and whether the Constitutional Court and the MPR are involved as required by the constitution. The public also needs to distinguish administrative rulings or education disputes from impeachment. Because Gibran remains in office and has not been found guilty by a court ruling that is final and binding, reporting must preserve the presumption of innocence.

In the short term, the impact will be felt most in the political arena: demonstrations, party statements and plenary-session agendas. For citizens, the prudent step is to follow official developments from state institutions rather than only viral fragments, and to demand a transparent, rule-based process.