After Gibran's resignation, how Indonesia will choose a new vice president

Indonesia has had no vice president since 12 November 2026, when Gibran Rakabuming Raka handed his resignation letter to President Prabowo Subianto and then to the leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in Senayan, Jakarta. The constitution does not call a new election. Instead, the MPR must choose a replacement from two candidates put forward by the president, and it has set the vote for Wednesday, 2 December 2026.

This explainer sets out what is confirmed, what is still open and the dates that matter. For the latest on the president's timing, see our news report on the 2 December vote.

Why it matters

The vice president is first in line if the presidency falls vacant, and Gibran's successor will serve the rest of the 2024 to 2029 term, CNN Indonesia reported. Unlike in 2024, voters will have no say: the choice rests with the president, who names two people, and with the MPR's members, who pick one. The MPR last chose a vice president itself in July 2001, when it installed Hamzah Haz at a special session, according to Detik.

What we know

• Gibran, 39, the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo, submitted his resignation on 12 November. MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani confirmed receiving the letter and said the same letter had gone to the president, Detik reported.
• Prabowo accepted it the same day at the Presidential Palace. "With a heavy heart, I accept the letter and respect and support the decision he has taken," he said, according to Detik.
• In a video statement released by the Vice President's Secretariat, Gibran said the decision was personal and "not related to the diploma", and that he was returning his mandate to the people, Detik and CNN Indonesia reported.
• At a joint meeting on 13 November, MPR leaders, party factions and the regional representatives' group agreed to hold the plenary on 2 December at the Senayan complex. Its agenda is to elect, swear in and confirm the new vice president, the MPR said.
• The MPR planned to send Prabowo a letter on 13 November asking for two names, and set up a 36-member verification team to check candidates' documents, plus a 36-member ad hoc team to prepare the MPR decree on the appointment, according to the MPR and CNBC Indonesia.

What we don't know yet

• Who the two candidates are. No names have been submitted to the MPR and none has been announced by the palace. Names raised in the media and by party politicians are suggestions, not nominations.
• The exact deadline for the names. Muzani said the president has 14 days from the date of the MPR's request letter, Detik reported. Detik's reading of Article 46(2) of the MD3 Law, which governs the legislature, says the names must reach the MPR at least 14 days before the plenary. For a 2 December session, those two readings point to different dates, and the MPR has not publicly reconciled them.
• How parties in the MPR will vote. No faction has announced how it will vote, because there is no pair to vote on.

How the MPR vote works

Article 8(2) of the 1945 Constitution says that when the vice presidency is vacant, the MPR must hold a session within 60 days to elect a vice president from two candidates proposed by the president. Muzani said the 60 days run from the receipt of Gibran's letter, which puts the outer limit in early January 2027.

Detik set out the steps under Articles 46 and 47 of the MD3 Law. The president sends two names and their documents to the MPR leadership. Both candidates must declare that they are ready to stand. At the plenary, the candidate with the most votes becomes vice president. If the vote is tied, it is repeated once; if it is tied again, the president chooses between the two. The MPR then swears in the winner.

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the MPR does not need to vote on whether to accept the resignation. "If someone declares that they are stepping down, that does not require consent or approval from anyone else," he said, according to Detik. He also said the choice of the two names belongs entirely to the president.

How the vacancy came about

Two court rulings preceded the resignation. On 6 October 2026 the Constitutional Court declared a petition over Gibran's education documents inadmissible because the applicants lacked standing, but said in its reasoning that it found no convincing evidence that he held a foreign qualification equivalent to senior high school, CNBC Indonesia reported. The court said it could not annul or disqualify him in that case.

On 30 October the Supreme Court, in ruling 742 K/TUN/2026, declared void a 2019 education ministry letter that had certified the equivalence of his schooling and ordered the ministry to revoke it, Kompas reported. Neither court ruled on whether any document was forged.

On 11 November the House of Representatives (DPR) received a motion to use its right to state an opinion, the first step towards possible impeachment, signed by 120 members from eight factions, Deputy Speaker Saan Mustopa told Detik. A plenary set for 2 pm on 12 November with the motion on its agenda was cancelled after the resignation, Antara reported. Muhammad Khozin, a National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker and one of the motion's backers, said it was no longer relevant.

Reactions on the record

Prabowo described Gibran's decision as that of "a knight, full of responsibility" and a statesman, Detik reported.

Joko Widodo, speaking at his home in Solo on 12 November, said he had discussed the decision with his son beforehand. "In political office there are always political dynamics. That is normal," he said, adding: "I have told Mas Gibran that a position is temporary," Kompas reported. He told reporters the family would continue to support Prabowo's government, Al Jazeera reported.

Gibran said in his statement: "I hope nothing like this happens again, because our democracy needs to be better organised," Detik reported.

Asked whether his own name was in contention, Yusril said the public was free to suggest names and he could not comment. Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung laughed off the same question, Detik reported. Neither has been nominated.

Vedi Hadiz, a political scientist at the University of Melbourne, told the ABC that Prabowo would have to negotiate with coalition partners, his own party and possibly the military, and that whoever is chosen could become a rival within the government.

What happens next

Prabowo said in Palu on 14 November that he would look for a new vice president after the ASEAN summit in Manila and his trip to Shenzhen, China, for the APEC summit on 18 and 19 November. "I must get a whisper from the One Above, the Almighty," he said, CNN Indonesia reported.

• 18 November 2026: the latest date for the two names if the MD3 Law's 14 days are counted back from the plenary, as Detik describes the rule.
• 18 to 19 November 2026: Prabowo is scheduled to attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
• 27 November 2026: the end of a 14-day window if it is counted from the MPR's request letter of 13 November, as Muzani described it.
• After the names arrive: the MPR's 36-member team verifies the candidates' documents.
• 2 December 2026: the MPR is scheduled to vote on the two candidates and swear in the new vice president at the same plenary session.
• Early January 2027: the constitution's 60-day limit for filling the post.