Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has told President Prabowo Subianto that he intends to resign, the latest and most dramatic turn in a monthslong fight over the validity of his academic credentials. State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi confirmed the offer on Tuesday, saying Gibran raised it directly with Prabowo after a string of adverse court rulings.

The dispute centers on documents Gibran submitted years ago about his overseas education, which he has cited to meet eligibility requirements for public office. According to Jakarta Globe, Indonesia's Supreme Court ruled that the paperwork did not meet the standard required, intensifying a push by some lawmakers for his removal that had been building for months.

Prabowo, for his part, has not accepted the resignation. Hadi said the president instead told Gibran to "continue pursuing legal avenues" to defend the authenticity of his documents, leaving Gibran's status in a kind of limbo — he remains vice president as of Tuesday evening, with no formal resignation filed and no confirmation the offer has been accepted.

A wider political rift

The resignation offer lands amid a broader falling-out between Prabowo and former President Joko Widodo, Gibran's father, whose political alliance helped engineer Gibran's rise to the vice presidency in the 2024 election despite age-eligibility questions that the Constitutional Court controversially waved through at the time. That history has made Gibran a lightning rod, and a group describing itself as a forum of retired military officers has separately petitioned Indonesia's legislative assembly, the MPR, to consider removing him.

THE VICE PRESIDENT CONVEYED TO THE PRESIDENT HIS INTENTION TO RESIGN IN RESPONSE TO THE DEVELOPMENTS SURROUNDING THE COURT RULINGS

Separately, Indonesian authorities are investigating allegations that senior police officials wiretapped the president, an inquiry that has added to the sense of instability gripping Prabowo's inner circle less than two years into his term, according to reporting summarized in the Just Security Early Edition briefing.

Gibran has previously insisted he did not request to be removed from consideration and has defended his record, including a largely symbolic first year in the role as Prabowo has kept most executive authority close to himself.

What happens next

Under Indonesian law, a vice-presidential resignation would need to be formally submitted and then processed by the MPR, a step that has not happened. Analysts quoted by Antara News say Prabowo is likely weighing the political cost of accepting the resignation against the risk of appearing to shield an ally from accountability. Until a resignation is filed and accepted, Gibran keeps his title, his office and his place in the line of succession.