JakartaPost-Oct 7, 2026
The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition challenging Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s eligibility for the 2024 election, saying the petitioners lacked legal standing despite finding no evidence he met the high school-equivalent education requirement to run for office. In a decision read out on Tuesday evening, the court found no convincing evidence that Gibran, the eldest son of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, holds a diploma proving that he completed overseas senior high school. Before following in his father’s footsteps into politics and becoming Indonesia’s youngest vice president, Gibran attended Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore and later studied at UTS Insearch in Australia before earning a bachelor’s degree from the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). The court said documents Gibran submitted to the election organizers included a certificate of attendance, academic records and explanation of grades, but no diploma or certificate proving graduation. “A certificate of attendance and other documents used as the basis for issuing the equivalency letter do not mean that the person successfully completed a particular level of education, but merely confirm attendance in classes,” Justice Arsul Sani said. However, the court said it could not annul Gibran’s eligibility because his status as a candidate ended when he was sworn in to office on Oct. 20, 2024.
The court declared the petition inadmissible, ruling that the petitioners lacked legal standing, pointing out that only presidential and vice-presidential candidates have legal standing to file a dispute over election results. The petition had argued that Gibran’s candidacy was invalid because he failed to provide a diploma and demanded that the court render Gibran’s candidacy invalid, annul his inauguration as vice president and order the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to elect a new vice president from candidates proposed by President Prabowo Subianto within two months of the court’s ruling. Read more at:
