KATHMANDU: Indonesia’s Vice President Gibran Rakabooming Raka resigned from his post on Thursday.
He was under increasing pressure to resign after questions were raised over his claims of foreign education and educational documents. Gibran, 39, is the son of former President Joko Widodo. He submitted his resignation to the leadership of the People’s Consultative Assembly at the parliament building in the capital, Jakarta.
Gibran also offered to resign during a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday. He said he did not want the dispute to become a political issue for a long time. However, according to a minister, the president had advised him to defend himself at the time. It was not clear whether the president accepted his resignation.
The controversy surrounding Gibran’s educational qualifications escalated after Indonesia’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court questioned his foreign education documents last month. Both courts ruled that the documents submitted for the election did not meet the eligibility requirements. Then on Wednesday, 120 lawmakers from eight political parties filed petitions with the parliamentary leadership. This paved the way for the impeachment process against Gibran.
Indonesian law requires parliamentary leaders to form a special committee. This committee will investigate whether Gibran violated the constitution by serving as vice president, even if he did not meet the electoral eligibility requirements.
If lawmakers find sufficient grounds to investigate the allegations, parliament will have to ask the Constitutional Court to decide whether the constitution has been violated. In the midst of this parliamentary process, Gibran submitted his resignation on Thursday. – Agency
