Antara News·Indonesia·Friday, November 13, 2026 at 07:35 AM UTC

Prabowo to exercise executive power alone amid VP vacancy

Translate

Maria Cicilia Galuh P., Genta Tenri M., Yashinta D

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto can continue to exercise executive power independently without a vice president, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra stated following the recent departure of Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Speaking at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Thursday, Yusril emphasized that the vacant vice-presidential position does not need to be filled immediately, nor does it trigger a constitutional transfer of power to a "triumvirate" of ministers during the President's overseas visits.

"It will not be filled by anyone. If there is no Vice President, the President simply exercises power himself. The Vice President’s role is to assist the President with his duties," Yusril told journalists.

Addressing operational concerns regarding presidential overseas travel, Yusril stressed that modern communications technology enables seamless coordination between the head of state and the cabinet.

Ministers will continue running their respective portfolios domestically, while others accompany the President abroad.

"Therefore, there is no issue with the President continuing to steer the administration; he can issue orders and instructions directly from abroad without any hindrance," Yusril noted.

He further underscored that under Indonesia's constitutional framework, a vice president lacks independent executive decision-making authority. Any policy or decree signed by a vice-presidential official legally constitutes the decision of the President.

"Even if the Vice President were present within the country, he would not be able to make official decisions. The authority for a Vice President to make such decisions does not exist within our legal or governmental system," Yusril explained.

The administrative clarification follows the departure of Vice President Gibran, who officially submitted his resignation letter to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) earlier Thursday.

Gibran's exit comes in the wake of rulings by the Constitutional Court (MK) and the Supreme Court (MA) concerning the validity of the high school educational credentials submitted during his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.

The Constitutional Court stated it found no convincing evidence of an equivalent overseas high school diploma, while the Supreme Court formally declared the submitted graduation documents invalid.

View the original on Antara News →

KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.