FORMER President FW de Klerk has refused to address election rallies in support of the flagging party at whose helm he won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, head of the New National Party, told reporters on Wednesday that De Klerk, who quit politics unexpectedly in 1997, would make only low-key appearances on behalf of the party. In contrast, outgoing President Nelson Mandela is making regular appearances in support of his African National Congress (ANC), which is aiming for a two-thirds victory in the June 2 election, and his chosen heir, Thabo Mbeki. Veteran liberal politician Helen Suzman, 81, is campaigning actively for the Democratic Party, which is vying with the National Party for second place behind the ANC. “He (De Klerk) is overseas now. He will definitely be part of the campaign, but he said to me it must be very low profile. He does not want to address political rallies,” Van Schalkwyk told the Foreign Correspondents Association.