Claims that the indelible ink put on a voter's index finger can be easily washed off may be due to failure by the Election Commission (EC) staff in following procedures.

EC secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria said today following the claims, the EC ran some tests yesterday and as a result, fingers smeared with ink from shaken bottles lasted longer than the others.

NONE "Not withstanding the impact of indelible ink, the EC wants to emphasise that early voters who voted on April 30, 2013, cannot vote again on May 5 because their names do not exist in the electoral roll for ordinary voters," Kamaruddin said in a statement late last night.

He said the EC would continue to use indelible ink on May 5, 2013, in accordance with the requirements of the law currently in force.

The EC received the information via social networking sites, with a photograph of an early voter showing the indelible could be easily removed by washing.

- Bernama