Former presi­dent John Agyekum Kufuor has decided not to take part in the Saturday voting for the flagbearership race of his political grouping—the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Mr Kufuor, who left Accra last night for a Food and Agriculture Organisa­tion (FAO) programme in Rome, believes voting for any of the three candidates contesting for the posi­tion—Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen and Francis Addai-Nimoh—could com­promise his decision to stay neutral in the family con­test.

Previously, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, popular­ly known as JAK, would have delegated a confidant to exercise his fran­chise for him if he was trav­elling out under the NPP proxy vote arrangement as he did during the National Delegates Congress in Tamale last April.

The former President mandated the Member of Par­liament for Kwesimintsim, Joe Baidoe-Ansah, to vote on his behalf, DAILY GUIDE learnt.

That internal NPP elec­tions ushered in the new party executives now led by Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong as Chairman and Gen­eral Secretary, respectively.

But his spokesman, Frank Agyekum, said Tuesday that his boss won't vote this time around.

He said ex-President Kufuor "wants to stay above acrimony and above anything that would appear as if one side is favoured against the other; so now he's waiting for whoever wins."

According to Mr Agyekum, his boss was therefore waiting for who­ever emerges from Satur­day's elections to give him 100 percent support.

The former President was previously accused of backing Alan Kyerematen against the candidature of Nana Akufo-Addo and late­ly Addai-Nimoh, for the flagbearership position of the party, thereby creating some form of enmity among the camps—the rea­son why he might want to maintain his neutrality.

Kufuor decided not to vote in the recent special delegates' congress of the party where the candidates were shortlisted from seven to five for the same rea­son—maintaining his neu­trality.

The election of NPP flagbearer will take place in 276 polling stations simulta­neously across the country in all the constituencies and specially designated polling stations at the party's Asy­lum Down national head­quarters on Saturday, Octo­ber 18, 2014.

The contest promises to be interesting, with all three contestants trying to woo the over 144,000 delegates expected to vote on the day.

By the close of yester­day, all the three aspirants were in different regions with their campaign teams busily canvassing for votes.