South African President Thabo Mbeki said he does not rule out early parliamentary elections if he loses the race to lead the ruling ANC to the party?s deputy president Jacob Zuma. ?I have not thought about that one. We haven?t got there yet. I don?t know. It?s possible, it?s possible, yes indeed,? he said in an interview with the Sunday Independent.

Mbeki has lost substantial ground to Zuma in the race. The ANC will choose a new leader at a party conference on December 16-20, and if Zuma wins, he is almost certain to become South Africa?s next president in elections due in 2009.

Parliament elects the president. Analysts say Mbeki, who is not allowed to run for re-election as state president, wants to remain head of the ANC to influence the country?s politics and help pick his successor.

Mbeki has helped sustain an economic boom but critics say he has promoted a culture of cronyism and used state institutions to purge opponents. He denies this.The rivalry between Mbeki and Zuma has plunged the party into one of the worst crises in its history. Zuma was South Africa?s deputy president for six years before Mbeki sacked him in 2005 after he was implicated in a graft trial. That case was thrown out on a technicality but a court ruling earlier this month allowed prosecutors to recharge Zuma. He was acquitted of rape charges in a separate case.He has made a dramatic comeback, but the graft case still hangs over him.

Michael GEORGY