Gibran: On the Seat on Heroes' Day

AS HEROES' DAY approaches, Gibran Rakabuming Raka spoke at the Vice President's Palace in Jakarta.

He announced plans to coordinate with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) to seek a judicial review of the Supreme Court's ruling.

This judicial review pertains to a Supreme Court decision that upheld the cassation from petitioner Subhan regarding the education equivalency certificate (Suket) used by Gibran to register as a candidate for vice president in the 2024 elections.

Coordinating Minister for Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra stated that no party can file for a judicial review in this case.

Earlier, cameras captured Gibran walking alongside President Prabowo Subianto heading to a ceremony for the National Hero award.

In the morning, according to State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Gibran expressed his intention to step down during a meeting that lasted approximately two and a half hours. (Bisnis Indonesia, November 10, 2026, 16:33 WIB).

Between the morning discussions and the afternoon ceremony, an invisible gap exists that cameras did not capture. The intention to resign could have been conveyed behind closed doors. Outside those doors are millions of people who entrusted their mandate through the elections.

Prabowo and Gibran received 96,214,691 votes, or 58.59 percent of the valid votes in the 2024 presidential election. The state owes an explanation to the public regarding how the candidacy requirements were evaluated (KPU Decision No. 504 of 2024, April 24, 2024).

The Election Law mandates a minimum education level equivalent to high school or its equivalent. In its consideration of Decision No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026, the Constitutional Court stated it did not find convincing evidence in the form of overseas graduation documents that could support Gibran's educational equivalence.

In its ruling, the Constitutional Court declared the application inadmissible as the petitioners lacked legal standing.

In a separate matter, the Supreme Court ruled that the equivalency certificate was invalid and ordered its revocation. The decision was made on October 30, 2026, with copies released on Heroes' Day (Constitutional Court, October 6, 2026) (Supreme Court Decision No. 742 K/TUN/2026, cited by detikNews, November 10, 2026).

Gibran has the right to be heard. The public also has the right to know how the documents of his candidacy were examined, who validated them, and the basis for that validation. The decision regarding the equivalency letter does not automatically end his position.

Articles 7A and 7B of the 1945 Constitution govern dismissal via the DPR, MK, and MPR. If the vice-presidential seat becomes vacant, Article 8, paragraph (2) requires the MPR to convene no later than 60 days to elect one of two candidates proposed by the President. The clock starts ticking when the seat is genuinely empty (1945 Constitution, Third Amendment, November 9, 2001).

In the DPR, Chairperson Puan Maharani stated that the leadership has received reports regarding the collection of signatures to propose a right to express an opinion. She indicated that this report would be followed up after the opening of the parliamentary session (Parliamentary DPR RI, November 10, 2026).

Mohammad Hatta left the position on December 1, 1956, amid differing views with Sukarno.

In 1960, while criticizing Guided Democracy, he wrote that “democracy will not disappear from Indonesia.” We still read that sentence long after people stopped addressing him as vice president (Presidential Decree No. 13 of 1957, February 5, 1957) (Mohammad Hatta, Our Democracy, Pandji Masjarakat, May 1, 1960).

In the United States, Spiro Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973, amid a tax controversy. The vice-presidential seat was vacant for 57 days.

Gerald Ford, the candidate nominated by Richard Nixon, was approved by the Senate with a vote of 92 to 3 and by the House of Representatives with 387 to 35 (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, October–December 1973).

The Philippines also requires the approval of both chambers separately. There, replacement candidates must come from the Senate or the House of Representatives.

Like the 60-day limit in Indonesia, the mechanisms in both countries provide a way for governance to continue when the vice-presidential seat is empty (Philippine Constitution, Article VII Section 9, February 1987).

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” wrote James Madison (The Federalist No. 51, February 1788).

In Indonesia today, the Rule of Law Index ranks it 75th out of 143 countries, dropping six places in a year.

For citizens, questions regarding the rule of law can begin from something simpler than rankings.

When a document is called into question, can they trace its journey from the table where it was approved to the courtroom where it was tested? (World Justice Project, October 21, 2026).

The first step lies with Kemendikdasmen.

The ministry needs to explain how the withdrawal order was followed up. The DPR can request the ministry explain the evidence that underpinned the issuance of the equivalency letter, then ask the KPU to show what was received and how the document was evaluated in 2023.

Gibran needs to be given the opportunity to respond to the results of the examination. A summary can be made available to the public while protecting personal data.

Even if the MPR eventually needs to select a successor, the KPU and the ministry still need to explain the decisions they made.

Before the next presidential election, the KPU needs to amend the candidacy rules.

Article 42 of KPU Regulation No. 19 of 2023 allows clarifications to be made to relevant agencies when there are doubts, and Article 43 regulates the verification minutes.

For any overseas education equivalency letter, the KPU should require written confirmation from the issuing agency stating the graduation evidence supporting that letter. Until the confirmation is received and examined, the requirement cannot be considered met.

The Bawaslu should be able to trace that confirmation in the minutes. The KPU needs to publish a summary of the verification results before the determination of candidates, with time for the public to present evidence and for candidates to respond (KPU Regulation No. 19 of 2023, Articles 42–43, October 9, 2023).

In the future, a child may find a photo of Heroes' Day in the archives. Prabowo and Gibran are still walking side by side. Their names are printed beneath the image.

If that child asks how the man at the president's side arrived at his seat, hopefully, they can access KPU archives and read for themselves what was examined before that name appeared on the ballot.