Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s education documentation for his 2024 election candidacy was incomplete, but said the finding did not disqualify him from holding office.
The court dismissed a petition challenging Gibran’s election victory, with all nine judges rejecting the case, Chief Justice Suhartoyo said in a ruling issued late Tuesday.
The petitioners, who challenged Gibran’s eligibility, argued that his foreign secondary school qualifications did not meet the legal requirements for vice-presidential candidates and had been improperly accepted by election officials.
Judge Adies Kadir said the court could not disqualify Gibran because the case could no longer be treated as a dispute over the election results after he had been sworn in as vice president alongside President Prabowo Subianto.
“Although the court found no convincing evidence that Gibran has a foreign diploma equivalent to having completed senior high school, or another equivalent school as stipulated in the Election Law, the court cannot annul or disqualify him as requested by the petitioners,” Adies said.
Indonesia’s election law requires presidential and vice-presidential candidates to have completed senior high school or hold an equivalent qualification.
The ruling noted that no graduation certificate was presented during the proceedings.
Gibran, the son of former president Joko Widodo, attended Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore and UTS Insearch in Australia before obtaining a bachelor’s degree through the Management Development Institute of Singapore.
Adies said the authority to determine whether Gibran remained eligible to serve as vice president, given the absence of his graduation certificate, rested with other institutions, although the court did not specify which bodies would be responsible.
Gibran’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Bambang Widjojanto, the petitioners’ lawyer, said the ruling could potentially provide grounds for efforts to impeach Gibran and prevent him from contesting a future election unless he completed a government high school equivalency programme.
The latest case follows controversy surrounding a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling that paved the way for Gibran to run for vice president despite not meeting the then-existing minimum age requirement.
