120 Indonesian lawmakers seek vice president’s impeachment after education credentials questioned

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A total of 120 Indonesian lawmakers moved Wednesday to challenge the vice president’s eligibility to remain in office, launching a parliamentary process that could lead to his impeachment after recent court rulings raised doubts about his educational credentials.

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 39-year-old son of former President Joko Widodo, submitted his resignation during a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday, saying he wanted to avoid a prolonged political controversy.

But lawmakers in the House of Representatives are continuing to pursue a motion over the dispute, because it wasn’t immediately clear whether Prabowo accepted the resignation.

The effort gained momentum Wednesday after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, said that all of its 110 lawmakers had agreed to invoke parliament’s constitutional “right to express an opinion,” a mechanism that can lead to impeachment proceedings. It needs a minimum of 25 members of parliament to propose the motion.

“We have agreed to pursue a constitutional mechanism by invoking the House’s right to express an opinion,” Utut Adianto, the PDI-P faction leader, told reporters after the party’s internal meeting at the parliament building in the capital, Jakarta.

The controversy over Raka’s academic qualifications escalated last month after the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court ruled that the documents he submitted regarding his overseas education didn’t meet election requirements.

If the court confirms the allegation, the House can then forward a proposal to impeach the vice president to the People’s Consultative Assembly, the country’s highest legislative body, for a final decision.

The petition, submitted to the House leadership by 120 lawmakers from eight political parties, alleges that Raka no longer meets the constitutional requirements to serve as vice president following last month’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court decisions regarding documents used to establish his eligibility for the 2024 presidential election.

The House, chaired by Puan Maharani, a senior PDI-P politician, has scheduled a plenary session for Thursday to formally advance and discuss the House inquiry proposal related to Raka’s academic credentials.

Under Indonesian law, House leaders must establish a special committee to examine whether Raka has violated the constitution by serving as vice president, despite allegedly failing to meet election requirements. If lawmakers determine there is sufficient basis for the accusation, the House must ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether a constitutional violation has occurred.

The move adds to mounting political pressure on Raka, and comes amid a widening rift between Widodo and Prabowo that has fueled uncertainty over the vice president’s political future.

It was apparently not related to an ongoing investigation into allegations that top police officials, including the president’s chief of staff, Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, had been involved in wiretapping targeting the president. Three other police generals also have been implicated in the case.

Listyo Sigit Prabowo previously served as national police chief under Widodo, who hasn’t been implicated in the wiretapping investigation.

Neither Raka nor the presidential office immediately commented on Wednesday’s petition.