Former South African President Thabo Mbeki said in a letter publishedFriday he will not campaign for the ruling ANC party in next year'selection.
Mbeki sent the letter to ANC leader Jacob Zumaearlier this month, but newspaper published a leaked copyFriday, ahead of a convention aimed at organizing a breakaway party.
In the letter, Mr. Mbeki says that neither the ANC nor the breakaway group had sought his support for their campaigns.
Mr.Mbeki was forced out of office last month. He said in the letter thathe could not understand how the ANC could expect him to promote thepolitical fortunes of the very same movement that was recentlydisenchanted with him.
Zuma seized control of the ANC from Mbeki during the party's conference last December.
Zuma's allies in the leadership last month forced Mbeki to resign as president just months before the end of his second term.
