VP Gibran Diploma Lawsuit Equals Impeachment, Says KPU
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The General Election Commission (KPU) asserted that a legal petition challenging Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's educational credentials from the 2024 election amounts to an impeachment motion. The commission presented this argument during a hearing on presidential election result dispute (PHPU) case No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
The petition was filed by the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), the Ummat Party, Integrity Law Firm attorney Denny Indrayana, and a coalition of retired military officers represented in part by former Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi.
KPU legal counsel Julfaldi rejected the petitioners' demand that the Constitutional Court annul Gibran's vice-presidential candidacy. "In essence, the petition falls into the category of impeachment," Julfaldi stated.
The KPU argued that the petitioners' own legal briefs acknowledge that the Constitutional Court lacks the jurisdiction to hear election result disputes submitted more than two years after the vote. He emphasized that the court's jurisdiction over election disputes is strictly defined by statute, without statutory exceptions.
The electoral body argued that disqualifying Gibran through an election dispute mechanism would amount to impeachment. However, Julfaldi pointed out that a distinct constitutional pathway already governs the removal of an inaugurated president or vice president. That impeachment process operates under entirely different constitutional rules.
"Once the president and vice president have been officially inaugurated, the constitution provides an impeachment mechanism as stipulated in Articles 7A and 7B of the 1945 Constitution," Jufaldi said.
He added that impeaching an inaugurated president or vice president cannot be submitted directly to the Constitutional Court without first going through the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Thus, the KPU concluded that any impeachment process before the Constitutional Court must follow established constitutional channels.
The Constitutional Court convened the hearing on the 2024 presidential election result dispute specifically to examine arguments regarding Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's academic background. The matter is officially docketed under case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026.
In their suit, the petitioners alleged that Gibran failed to meet the statutory requirement of possessing senior high school-equivalent credentials at the time candidate pairs were registered and certified.
In an article published by Tempo on Monday, September 21, 2026, titled "The Challenge Against Gibran's Educational Background," Denny Indrayana, who is also a former Deputy Justice and Human Rights Minister, clarified that the challenge centers on the legitimacy of educational documents submitted by Gibran during the 2024 candidate registration process.
Denny submitted the petition to the Constitutional Court on Thursday, September 10, 2026. "I am asking the Constitutional Court to disqualify or remove Gibran as vice president," the former Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister said in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
