By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s vice president handed his resignation to parliament’s upper house on Thursday, ending days of speculation about his political future, while his father, former President Joko Widodo, voiced support for current leader Prabowo Subianto.
The expression of support after the departure of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Indonesia’s highest profile resignation since that of President Suharto in 1998, could soothe signs of strain in the political alliance of Prabowo and predecessor Widodo.
“We will continue to support President Prabowo’s administration, especially programmes that serve the interests of the broader public,” the highly popular Widodo, known as Jokowi, told reporters outside his home in Solo in central Java.
The rift between Prabowo and Jokowi, who twice defeated the powerful former general for the presidency before throwing him support in the face of term limits, had looked set to further destabilise the government, analysts said.
Prabowo’s government is battling scandals over signature political programmes and doubts about its prowess to manage Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, where the political turmoil has sapped investor sentiment.
Scrutiny is growing over the government’s fiscal plans and broader policy direction, while downgrade risks still linger for the stock market, with the rupiah weakening about 0.6% to plumb a fresh record low of 18,255 against the dollar.
Minutes before Jokowi’s remarks, Gibran arrived at parliament in Jakarta, the capital, where he met leaders for 20 minutes, handing in his resignation and asking parliament to process it, said Ahmad Muzani, the speaker of the upper house.
Gibran made his decision “through my own volition … for the interests of the government and nation,” Muzani told reporters while reading out the resignation letter.
Senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Gibran quit for personal reasons and cited “growing public sentiment”, in the letter of just five paragraphs.
CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT BEFORE RESIGNATION
Gibran had also submitted a resignation letter to Prabowo, said Muzani, adding that he did not explain why he resigned.
The 39-year-old was elected alongside Prabowo in a 2024 election, during which Jokowi was accused of meddling in the process by influencing a court decision that changed the election rules, enabling Gibran to stand.
His resignation followed a push by lawmakers for Gibran’s impeachment on grounds of inadequate educational credentials.
It also followed rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court that his overseas high school qualifications fell short of legal requirements for vice presidential candidates, and had been wrongly accepted by election authorities.
PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO SUBMIT TWO REPLACEMENT CANDIDATES
Parliamentary leaders will now gather to discuss the next steps, Muzani said.
The upper house will have to hold a session to declare a vacancy after Gibran’s resignation, while sending the president a letter seeking the names of two replacement candidates, senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Wednesday.
An upper house election will follow within 60 days.
Analysts said another sign of the gulf between Prabowo and Jokowi was last week’s revelation of an inquiry into illegal wiretapping by senior police officials, including former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, widely seen as a Jokowi loyalist.
On Thursday, police said they had enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects for wiretapping Prabowo, other politicians, activists and journalists.
At a hearing, lawmakers urged police chief Suyudi Ario Seto to uncover who ultimately ordered Listyo to conduct the alleged wiretapping, and the political interests that could be behind it.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by David Stanway and Clarence Fernandez)
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