Prabowo delays vice-president pick as Indonesia sets 2 December vote

President Prabowo Subianto will not send his two candidates for vice president to parliament until he returns from summits in the Philippines and China, he said on 14 November, leaving the vice presidency vacant until at least 2 December, when the assembly plans to swear in a replacement.

Speaking at a Muhammadiyah gathering in Palu, Central Sulawesi, marking the Islamic organisation's 114th anniversary, Prabowo said he would fly from Palu to Manila for the 49th ASEAN Summit on 15-17 November and then to Shenzhen for the APEC summit. He would deal with the vacancy after that. "I must get a whisper from the One Above, the Almighty," he said, according to Detik and Investortrust.

With the post empty, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Prabowo would lead the cabinet from abroad during the trip, Investortrust reported.

What the 2 December session will do

MPR Speaker Ahmad Muzani said after a joint leadership meeting on 13 November that the plenary would be held on Wednesday 2 December at the Senayan parliament complex, according to the assembly's statement and CNN Indonesia. The same meeting decided to send the president a letter that day asking for two names, and to form a 36-member verification team, led by one of the MPR's deputy speakers, to check the candidates' documents. A separate 36-member ad hoc committee will prepare the MPR decree confirming the appointment.

Article 8(2) of the 1945 Constitution says that if the vice presidency falls vacant, the MPR must meet within 60 days to choose between two candidates proposed by the president, the coordinating ministry said in a statement. Muzani put the deadline at 10 January 2027. The MPR's rules give the president 14 days from the assembly's request, which would make his list due around 27 November. If the two candidates tie, members vote once more; a second tie leaves the choice to the president, according to the procedure published by CNN Indonesia.

Why the office is empty

Gibran, 39, the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo, gave his resignation letter to Prabowo at Merdeka Palace on 12 November and then to MPR leaders at parliament, the Cabinet Secretariat said. Yusril said the letter was a unilateral statement and needed no MPR approval. The assembly's task is to acknowledge the vacancy and fill it, not to accept or reject the resignation.

Two court rulings had raised questions about the education documents behind his place on the 2024 ticket. On 6 October the Constitutional Court said the evidence did not convincingly show that Gibran held a foreign qualification equivalent to senior high school, but dismissed the petition because the applicants lacked standing and the matter could not be settled as a dispute over the election result, Jakarta Globe reported. On 30 October the Supreme Court revoked the high school equivalency certificate issued by the education ministry on 6 August 2019, in ruling 742 K/TUN/2026, Kompas reported.

Neither ruling found that Gibran forged documents. He has said his resignation was a personal decision unrelated to the certificate, Detik reported. Education advocates and student groups have argued that the resignation should not close the matter and have called for legal consequences for officials involved in issuing the certificate, Kompas reported. Jakarta Globe reported that before he stepped down, lawmakers from six party factions had sought parliamentary action over his eligibility.

Coalition parties decline to field candidates

At a closed-door meeting at Bogor Palace on the evening of 13 November, coalition party leaders agreed not to nominate their own cadres and to leave the choice to Prabowo, Investortrust reported. Zulkifli Hasan, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said his party had no candidate and suggested a figure from Prabowo's Gerindra Party. Golkar lawmaker Melchias Markus Mekeng said his party would accept a politician or an independent professional. Muhammad Khozin of the National Awakening Party (PKB) denied that his party had proposed its chairman, Muhaimin Iskandar.

Zulkifli said Prabowo gave coalition members a week to hold internal discussions before meeting again after his return.

PDI-P, which sits outside the governing coalition, set out criteria rather than a name. Its executive board chairman Said Abdullah said the next vice president should have personal chemistry with Prabowo, governing experience and loyalty, and should avoid a "twin suns" rivalry with the president, Investortrust reported.

No candidate has been formally submitted and the MPR has published no shortlist.

Rupiah hits record low as shares hold steady

The rupiah fell to a record low after the resignation, IDN Financials and CNBC Indonesia reported, and deputy coordinating minister for economic affairs Dradjad Wibowo spoke publicly about the currency's slide, according to CNBC Indonesia. The Jakarta Composite Index opened 14.77 points higher at 5,265 on Friday 13 November, Antara reported. CNBC Indonesia also reported that the state budget deficit reached Rp379 trillion in October 2026.

What to watch before 2 December

Prabowo's two names are expected after his return and must arrive within the 14-day window that ends around 27 November. The MPR's published procedure also lists the names as due at the latest 14 days before the plenary, which for 2 December would mean 18 November, so the two timetables do not fully match.

The verification team then has seven days to check the documents, and any shortfall is referred back to the president. Joko Widodo, speaking in Surakarta, said political office is temporary, CNN Indonesia reported.