What is the Mechanism for Vice Presidential Resignation? Here's the Experts' Explanation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Constitutional law expert from Jentera School of Law, Bivitri Susanti, stated that since the amendment of the 1945 Constitution during the Reform era, there has been no clear regulation regarding which institution needs to approve the resignation of a vice president.

"There was indeed an instance where a vice president resigned, namely Mohammad Hatta in 1957, but at that time we were under a parliamentary system," Bivitri said in a voice message on Tuesday (10/11/2026).

At that time, Hatta submitted his resignation by sending a letter to the DPR-MPR.

However, currently, the president and vice president are elected directly by the people, so there is no need for a letter or approval from the DPR.

"The vice president can submit a resignation to the president, and there are no established rules for this," she added.

Although there are no formal rules, Bivitri mentioned that it is also important from an ethical standpoint to send a letter to the supporting coalition.

After Resignation

Following the resignation of a vice president, the president can send a letter to the MPR to implement Article 8 of the 1945 Constitution to initiate the selection of a new vice president.

"So there is no need for approval; the president can directly send a letter with the proposed candidate," she explained.

Election law expert from the University of Indonesia, Titi Anggraini, detailed the resignation mechanism of the Vice President according to legislative regulations.

The MPR has a period of 60 days to convene since the vice president's position becomes vacant, consisting of a Joint Meeting of the MPR to set the session schedule, notify the schedule and candidate requirements to the president, and submit two candidates along with their eligibility documents.

"Before the election, both candidates must present a declaration of readiness for nomination in a plenary session," Titi said.

The candidate receiving the most votes will be appointed as Vice President.

If both candidates receive the same number of votes, the election will be repeated once. If the result remains the same, the MD3 Law and the MPR Rules stipulate that the president will choose one of the candidates.

"The elected Vice President will then be confirmed with an MPR decree and sworn in through an oath or promise," she added.