Court Rules Petition Inadmissible
Indonesia's Constitutional Court (MK) has ruled inadmissible the 2024 presidential election dispute (PHPU) challenging the validity of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's education qualifications.
The ruling in case No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 was read by Chief Justice Suhartoyo in an open plenary session at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Tuesday (6/10/2026). The Court granted the respondent's exception regarding the petitioners' legal standing.
Consequently, the entire petition was declared inadmissible. The Court held that the petitioners were not candidate pairs in the 2024 presidential election and therefore had no legal standing to file a presidential election-result dispute.
Petitioners Were Not Election Candidates
The case was filed by several parties, including the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), the Ummat Party, Denny Indrayana, six members of the TNI Retired Soldiers Forum, M Subhan, Bonatua Silalahi, and Tiurma M.S. Sihombing.
Justice Liliek P. Adi explained that the parties eligible to file a presidential and vice-presidential PHPU case are strictly regulated. Article 74 paragraph (1) letter b of the Constitutional Court Law states that petitioners in presidential election-result disputes are the presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs.
That provision is reinforced by MK Regulation No. 4 of 2023 in conjunction with MK Regulation No. 2 of 2024, which govern the mechanisms and legal subjects for filing presidential PHPU cases.
Attendance Certificate Is Not Graduation Proof
Although the petition was declared inadmissible, the Court still offered reasoning on the education documents Gibran used during the candidacy process. Justice Arsul Sani said the Court found no documents showing Gibran held a diploma, certificate, or degree proving he completed overseas education equivalent to senior high school or its equal.
The Court also considered the documents used as the basis for issuing the equivalency certificate. Documents such as the certificate of attendance, academic records, and explanation of grades were deemed not proof of graduation or completion of education, but rather proof of attendance and the learning process.
However, the Court stressed that the substantive validity and fulfillment of presidential and vice-presidential candidacy requirements falls under the authority of the institutions empowered under the 1945 Constitution. The inauguration on 20 October 2024 had ended the stage of election-result disputes.
VP Status Stands, Inquiry Push Continues
The ruling leaves Gibran's status as Vice President constitutionally valid, as the challenge failed at the formal stage of legal standing rather than on a substantive review of his candidacy.
Election law expert Titi Anggraini said the absence of graduation evidence in the judges' reasoning was a substantive matter the public should note.
Meanwhile, the push for the DPR to use its inquiry right (hak angket) to investigate Gibran's education qualifications continues to gain momentum in Senayan. Several factions are reportedly reviewing the Constitutional Court's ruling before deciding their next political steps.
