Impeachment discourse aimed to keep Gibran under pressure

A forum of retired senior military and police officers has officially submitted a proposal to the House of Representatives to impeach Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The group, which includes high-profile figures like former vice president Try Sutrisno, argues that Gibran's path to office was marred by undemocratic processes and legal flaws.

The challenge has put Indonesia’s political establishment in a delicate position. While the proponents carry significant moral authority, major political parties are reacting with caution, wary of confronting Gibran’s primary backer: his still widely popular and influential father, former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Pro-government political parties like Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP) have acknowledged the forum's right to express its views but emphasized that any impeachment must follow strict constitutional procedures and require a valid legal justification, which they argue is currently lacking.

In contrast, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), whose leader Megawati Soekarnoputri has had a political rift with Jokowi, has urged President Prabowo Subianto to take the demand seriously.

President Prabowo's administration has dismissed the proposal. Gerindra Party Secretary General Ahmad Muzani insisted that the President and Vice President won the election legally. Speaking for the President, special advisor Wiranto stated that while Prabowo respects the aspiration of the retired generals, he will not respond to the demand.

The forum's entire case rests on the controversial 2023 Constitutional Court ruling that changed the age requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, enabling Gibran to run. The forum argues this ruling, made when the court was led by Jokowi's brother-in-law, was itself a violation of procedural law.

However, impeaching a vice president is an arduous process. According to the 1945 Constitution, it requires evidence of severe legal violations, such as treason or corruption, and must gain the support of a two-thirds majority in the House. Given these high procedural barriers and the political reluctance to challenge the Jokowi-Prabowo alliance, the path to impeachment appears highly unlikely.

History shows that the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), which includes the House, impeached then-president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid in 2001 for alleged misappropriation of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds and foreign aid from Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The accusations, however, were never legally proven, as political maneuvering was actually behind the move to unseat Gus Dur.

Replacing Gus Dur was Megawati, the vice president who was then embroiled in a silent conflict with the president.

Political elites within the ruling coalition seem to be letting the issue of Gibran’s impeachment play out. They are waiting to see how this impeachment process unfolds and what President Prabowo's stance will be on the matter.

Prabowo is very unlikely to make his stand public, but his recent warming ties with Megawati could signal his personal views on the issue.

At the end of the day, the discourse surrounding a potential impeachment of Gibran is not primarily aimed at ousting him from office. Instead, political elites allow the issue to linger as a form of political pressure on Gibran and Jokowi within the corridors of power.