The National Executive Committee has decided that "the New Patriotic Party will not contest the upcoming by elections in the Volta Region," said Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, the General Secretary of the party.

The move, agreed upon at a leadership meeting last week, concerns the nature of the petition challenging the 2012 presidential elections submitted to the Supreme Court, which outlines evidence that, at least, 1 in 8 votes declared by the Electoral Commission in the December election was invalid.

The NPP has raised serious doubts about how the 2012 elections were conducted and, incidentally, the conduct of polls in these two constituencies forms part of the basis of the party's concerns.

The party will give no further explanation except to say that it cannot, as things stand now, with the case pending at the Supreme Court, "participate in any such elections until further notice".

The EC has fixed the following dates, February 5 for Akatsi South and February 26 for Buem. The Buem Seat became vacant following the death of Mr Ford Henry Kamel, while the Akatsi South seat was vacated by Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, who was elected as Speaker of Parliament.

The NPP has resolved that, "until further notice, we are not in a position to participate in any elections conducted by the EC as we await the Supreme Court's final decision on the mountain of evidence we have brought before it," explained the party's General Secretary.