Vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka will now focus on preparing for his new role and moving his family to Jakarta after resigning as Surakarta mayor, some three months before his inauguration.

Gibran won the February election as the running mate to Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto. The pair secured a landslide victory after positioning themselves as the natural successors to outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is Gibran’s father.

Gibran’s mayoral tenure was supposed to end early next year, when an elected successor would be inaugurated following the regional head elections in November of this year.

But he tendered his resignation to the Surakarta Legislative Council on Tuesday, cutting his time short as the mayor so he could prepare to take up his new role as vice president in October.

The council in a plenary session on Wednesday accepted his resignation and is now submitting its decision to the Home Ministry for final approval. The council also proposed to the ministry that Deputy Mayor Teguh Prakoso replace Gibran as mayor.

After the plenary session, Gibran told reporters that he would relocate himself and his family to Jakarta and go on a tour around the country to look for issues his administration needs to resolve.

“The main focus now is problem shopping," Gibran said. "The priority locations [I will be visiting] are Jakarta, [areas] outside Java, and the new capital city."

Popular

Explore nearby, spend wisely: intra-provincial travel boom

Furniture exporters decry new quarantine rule

Jokowi faces storm of lawsuits six months after stepping down