The New Patriotic Party (NPP) picked a form to contest in the Wulensi bye elections contrary to threats to boycott it if the Electoral Commission (EC) decides to use the old voter register.

The party has also said it would boycott the Afigya Sekyere by-elections for the same reason.

Mr. Kwabena Daliri, Nanumba South District Officer of the EC told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wulensi that members of the NPP picked the form soon after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) picked theirs.

He said the party would submit it before the close of Wednesday July 4, 2012.

Meanwhile, Dr Clifford Braimah, Northern Regional Secretary of the NPP told the GNA that picking the form did not mean that the party was contesting the by-election.

He explained that the EC was indulging in an illegality and though the party would be taking legal action against the EC, it needed to pick a form.

“As I am talking to you, we are still waiting for our headquarters to tell us something and if they say we should not contest then we will not return the forms we picked. So picking a form does not mean that we are automatically contesting”, he said.

He claimed that the NPP was going to win the by-election and that the party would not intentionally abstain from contesting for the NDC to win the seat on a silver platter.

In all, nine political parties including two independent candidates have so far picked nomination forms to contest the Wulensi by-election slated for July 31, 2012.

The rest of the parties are the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the New Vision Party (NVP), People’s National Convention (PNC), the United Front Party (UFP), Independent People’s Party (IPP), Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).

Mr. Mohammed Iddrisu and Adam Mohammed are the independent candidates.

The Wulensi seat became vacant following the death of Alhaji Saani Iddi, an Independent Member of Parliament, who died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on June 4, 2012.**