Gibran’s exit: The Machiavellian end of a political alliance

Resumen detallado

Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s abrupt resignation amid a credentials scandal lays bare the transactional pragmatism of Prabowo’s governing coalition, igniting a high-stakes race to fill the vice presidential vacancy ahead of the 2029 election.

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Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s abrupt resignation amid a credentials scandal lays bare the transactional pragmatism of Prabowo’s governing coalition, igniting a high-stakes race to fill the vice presidential vacancy ahead of the 2029 election.

rabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka won the 2024 presidential election in a single round with 58.59 percent of the vote; two years later, their partnership collapsed. On Nov. 12, 2026, Gibran submitted his resignation to the People’s Consultative Assembly. Consequently, the House of Representatives called off a scheduled plenary session to consider an impeachment motion, a proposal that had garnered backing from lawmakers across all eight House factions, including those of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party.

History seems to repeat itself. In 2001, following a heated schism, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid was impeached by the very politicians who made him president two years prior.

Gibran’s departure allows Prabowo to nominate two candidates to fill the vacancy. It also provides coalition parties with an opening to bargain over who will stand beside him for the remainder of his term, and who will be best positioned to contest the 2029 race.

The crisis stemmed from two court proceedings regarding Gibran’s educational qualifications. On Oct. 6, the Constitutional Court declared inadmissible a challenge to the 2024 election results filed by a group that included constitutional lawyer Denny Indrayana. While the petitioners lacked legal standing, the court nevertheless observed that the evidence before it did not convincingly establish that Gibran held a foreign credential substantiating his secondary school qualification.

That finding had no direct bearing on the election outcome or Gibran’s tenure. However, on Oct.

Gibran’s candidacy had been controversial from the…

Inicio del artículo, extracto de The Jakarta Post. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.