President Jacob Zuma says he knows who former president Thabo Mbeki will vote for, even if he refuses to campaign for the African National Congress (ANC).

Zuma has for the first time spoken out about Mbeki’s refusal, again, to campaign for the ANC in the 2016 local government elections.

Mbeki has not campaigned for the ANC in previous elections either, but has made rare appearances on ANC stages, like during the party’s centenary celebrations in Bloemfontein in 2012.

Addressing journalists during a whistle-stop campaign in Maboloka, north of Brits, on Thursday, Zuma said it was Mbeki’s choice as an individual not to campaign for the party.

"I can’t discuss that [Mbeki’s decision] because we make choices.

"We make choices as individuals. We have joined organisations because we made choices as individuals, and as individuals we can make that choice: How far do you go; how far do you work, and I don’t think I want to discuss individual choices.

"I think comrade Mbeki, the former president, has made a statement. He is a member of the ANC in good standing. That is wonderful, and I know who he is going to be voting for. You don’t know the reasons – he might be busy – why he is not campaigning, whatever.

"He might not be feeling like campaigning for whatever reasons. I don’t think that is a matter we need to take a lot of time about. Fact of the matter, it is not all of the members of the ANC who campaign, so there is no problem," he said.