Indonesia court weighs challenge to vice president Gibran’s education qualifications

Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU) has rejected a legal challenge seeking to disqualify Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka over his educational qualifications, arguing that the case amounts to an impeachment attempt and falls outside the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction.

The dispute concerns Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election and is registered as case No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 before the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest judicial authority for constitutional and electoral disputes.

The KPU presented its response during a hearing in Jakarta on Wednesday, 23 September.

KPU lawyer Jufaldi rejected the petitioners’ request to annul Gibran’s candidacy.

“In essence, the petition falls into the category of impeachment,” Jufaldi said.

The KPU said the petition had been submitted well beyond the legal deadline for presidential election-result disputes. It also argued that the applicants were challenging the process by which Gibran qualified as a candidate, rather than the result of the 2024 presidential election itself.

Under Indonesian election law, presidential election-result disputes must be brought to the Constitutional Court within three days of the official announcement of the election result.

The applicants have acknowledged that their petition was filed far beyond that deadline, but argue that the court should consider the substance of their allegations in the interests of substantive justice.

Petitioners question education requirement

The case was filed on 10 September by the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), the Ummat Party, former Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana, six members of the Forum of Retired TNI Soldiers, and other applicants.

The petition was formally registered by the Constitutional Court on 17 September.

The applicants argue that Gibran did not lawfully satisfy the minimum education requirement for a vice-presidential candidate when he registered for the 2024 election.

Indonesian election law requires presidential and vice-presidential candidates to have completed senior high school or an equivalent level of education.

The petitioners have also challenged a provision in KPU Regulation No. 19 of 2023 concerning candidates who studied overseas. They argue that the regulation exempts candidates educated abroad from providing proof of completion of senior high school at a foreign institution.

They further allege that an education-equivalency certificate linked to Gibran was issued by Indonesia’s Education and Culture Ministry through its Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education in less than 24 hours on 6 August 2019.

The applicants say the documents supporting the issuance of the certificate had not been demonstrated when they filed their petition.

Denny has argued that the alleged deficiencies were not merely administrative and could constitute election violations.

“The inauguration does not eliminate such administrative and manipulative defects,” Denny said, according to detikNews.

The petitioners have asked the Constitutional Court to disqualify Gibran, declare his candidacy legally defective from the outset and annul the KPU decision confirming him as a vice-presidential candidate.

They have also asked the court to annul his inauguration as vice president by Indonesia’s People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and order the assembly to elect a new vice president from two candidates proposed by the president within 60 days of the court’s ruling.

KPU invokes constitutional impeachment process

The KPU argues that the requested removal of Gibran, who has already been inaugurated, would fall under Indonesia’s separate constitutional mechanism for removing an incumbent president or vice president.

Jufaldi referred to Articles 7A and 7B of Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution, which establish the impeachment process.

He said an impeachment process cannot simply be brought directly before the Constitutional Court without first going through the MPR under the constitutional procedure.

The election commission also argued that the applicants lacked the specific legal standing required to bring a presidential election-result dispute before the Constitutional Court. It said such cases are ordinarily limited to presidential and vice-presidential candidates who participated in the election.

Jokowi defends son's education

Former president Joko Widodo, Gibran’s father, defended his son’s education history on Thursday, September 24, while saying the dispute should be resolved through the legal process.

Speaking to reporters in Solo, Central Java, Jokowi said Gibran’s candidacy had already been accepted by the KPU.

“The requirements were accepted by the KPU. If he had already studied abroad, why should he take a Package C [high-school equivalency] test again?” Jokowi said, according to detikJateng.

Jokowi said Gibran attended elementary school at SD 16 in Surakarta and junior high school at SMP Negeri 1 Surakarta before continuing his education at Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore.

He said Gibran subsequently completed O-Level education, attended UTS Insearch in Australia through what he described as a pathway programme, and later moved to MDIS in Singapore.

“After that, from what I remember, three years later, he moved to MDIS in Singapore. Everything is clear. Everything is clear,” Jokowi said.

When asked whether Gibran’s nomination should be annulled, Jokowi said the matter was now before the court.

“Yes, that is a legal process, and the authority lies with the Court,” he said.

Jokowi also questioned allegations of structured irregularities in Gibran’s nomination, pointing to the KPU’s acceptance of his candidacy.