The failure of the Election Commission's (EC) indelible ink to last longer than a few hours might have been a well-planned conspiracy by the EC head, PKR vice-president Tian Chua said today.

NONE "I am leaning towards the idea that this whole thing was well-planned and that the EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof was involved in it," he said.

Tian Chua said the EC's explanation of the issue was unacceptable, and reiterated his party's call for Aziz ( right ) to resign for this "major error".

Many police and army personnel who did advance voting on Tuesday have complained that the ink came off easily from their fingers even though it was supposed to last for at least a week.

The EC later said that the problem might have been caused by EC officials who did not shake the ink bottle before application.

"If shaking the bottle is the problem, why did this happen in various locations across the country?" he asked.

He also believed that the ink is not made up of silver nitrate, as previously claimed by the EC.

"If silver nitrate, the ink would absorb into finger cells. There is no way the ink could be removed just like that," he added.

He said that many opposition candidates have lost faith in the EC's capacity to conduct the elections smoothly after the issue with the indelible ink.

The EC, according to Tian Chua further, had contacted PKR and offered to meet the party leaders to offer an explanation over the matter tomorrow morning.

"But the damage has been done. I don't know what is the point of meeting us now.

"But I will consult party leaders to decide on this matter," he added.