00:00In the last few hours, I've had a few expat friends reaching out to me with some questions.
00:06They ask, what exactly is going on with the Vice President's diploma case?
00:12And they also ask, if the Constitutional Court could not find convincing evidence of his high school diploma,
00:20why is he still the Vice President?
00:22Sounds contradictory.
00:24Okay, so first, what did they find?
00:26Indonesia's Constitutional Court, known here as the NK, examined the documents relating to Gibran's educational qualifications.
00:35And the court said it could not find convincing evidence of a diploma, certificate, or degree,
00:42proving that Gibran had completed an overseas education equivalent to Indonesian senior high school.
00:48Now this is important, because completing high school, or its equivalent, is the requirement for someone running for Vice President
00:57or President of Indonesia.
00:58The court also examined the documents used to obtain its Indonesian equivalency certificate.
01:04Among them was a certificate of attendance and academic records.
01:09But the court made a very important distinction.
01:12Proof that you attended school is not necessarily the same as proof that you graduated from school.
01:19So then comes the obvious question.
01:22If the court could not find convincing evidence that Gibran actually fulfilled these legal requirements,
01:30why is he still the Vice President?
01:32And this is where it gets interesting.
01:34The court did not order Gibran's removal.
01:38First, the people who brought this particular case did not have the required legal standing.
01:45Meaning, legally, they were not the right parties to bring this type of election dispute.
01:51But there is an even bigger issue.
01:53You see, this case was brought as an election dispute.
01:57But the election is already over.
01:59And Gibran is no longer a candidate.
02:02He is the sitting Vice President.
02:04So you simply cannot go back and disqualify him as a candidate through the same election dispute mechanism.
02:11Here is the fascinating part.
02:13The court did not simply say, there's no problem here, case closed.
02:18No.
02:19Instead, it examined the evidence, put its findings on the record,
02:24and indicated that the question now belongs to the institution that is authorized to determine constitutionally
02:32whether the requirements for President or Vice President have been fulfilled.
02:37And Indonesia's constitution does provide a mechanism for dealing with a sitting President or Vice President.
02:44The process begins in the DPR, or the House of Representatives.
02:50Under strict constitutional conditions, the House can bring the matter before the Constitutional Court.
02:56The Constitutional Court then determines the legal questions.
03:01And if the constitutional process continues, it ultimately goes to the NPR.
03:07The NPR is a constitutional assembly assisted of DPR and DPD.
03:13That ultimately has the authority to remove the President or Vice President from office.
03:19Now, let me be very clear.
03:21The Constitutional Court did not say that DPR has a fake diploma.
03:25It also did not order his removal.
03:28And it did not order Parliament to start impeaching proceedings.
03:33What the court said was that it could not find convincing evidence of the educational qualification required for his candidacy.
03:41But because DPR is now the sitting Vice President, the election dispute mechanism is no longer the appropriate way to
03:48resolve that question.
03:49And that leaves Indonesia with a fascinating constitutional and political question.
03:55What happens when the Constitutional Court says it cannot find convincing evidence that a sitting Vice President fulfilled one of
04:04the legal requirements for his candidacy?
04:06But the election process for challenging it is already over?
04:10Well, the election door may now be closed.
04:14But did the Constitutional Court explain Indonesia toward another door?
04:18And if it did, who would be willing to open it?
04:22Now, that's the story that I'll be watching.
04:25Stay tuned.
