Indonesian VP Gibran’s fate hangs in balance as parliament ponders probe

Indonesia’s parliament reconvened on Tuesday with lawmakers weighing the possibility of a probe into the eligibility of Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, amid a widening political rift between his influential father and President Prabowo Subianto.

As son of the hugely popular two-term former President Joko Widodo, Gibran helped Prabowo win the ‌2024 election by a huge margin, but some lawmakers are seeking to investigate whether his incomplete education documents disqualify him as vice-president.

House Speaker Puan Maharani said many opinions on the issue of Gibran’s eligibility had been received during a one-month recess, and the next steps would be discussed.

“We will listen to inputs from the parties in parliament,” she told reporters.

“During the recess, we have also received a great deal of input from the parties regarding what the House can do and how the mechanisms work.”

Gibran, 39, had kept a ⁠low profile as vice-president, and his appearances together with Prabowo have been infrequent in their first two years in office.

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Prabowo Subianto sworn in as Indonesia’s next president

But he has been thrust ‌into the spotlight of late as tensions grow between the president and Widodo, better known as Jokowi, who twice defeated Prabowo in 2014 and 2019 elections before tacitly backing him as his successor.

Cracks in their ‌relationship deepened last week following the arrest of three senior police officers accused of widespread illegal wiretapping, including of Prabowo himself.

The ⁠arrests included a Jokowi loyalist ⁠recently transferred from the post of national police chief to become the president’s chief of staff.

The scandal was the latest in a series of headaches for Prabowo.

His approval rating has ‌slumped in the past year as a result of growing disgruntlement with his big-spending populist policies, and he has also been battling to reassure investors after a series of setbacks that have ‌caused ‌havoc on Indonesia’s stock market and a slump in the value of its currency.

The dispute over Gibran’s qualifications came after rulings last month by ‌the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court that the education documents he submitted did not meet election requirements.

The constitutional court, however, said it did not ⁠have the power to disqualify him, which was the responsibility of other institutions.

Lawmakers in parliament, which is overwhelmingly under the control of Prabowo’s “big tent” coalition, have ⁠been looking into launching an inquiry into the issue, which analysts believe could be the first step towards Gibran’s impeachment.

Prabowo met Gibran on Tuesday, but it was not clear what the talks were about, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters, declining to ‌be identified because of the sensitivity ‌of the matter.

The offices of the president and the vice-president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Speaker Puan was also asked by reporters on Tuesday about whether Gibran and Prabowo met and the possibility of the vice-president resigning.

“We should not speculate,” she said.

“It is better to respond calmly and avoid raising concerns among the public over things that have not yet happened.”