National
Rejected blue ink to be used in vote again
The Election Commission has decided against using the red ink it had purchased for the Swastika stamp for the second phase of local polls after finding it low on quality.The Election Commission has decided against using the red ink it had purchased for the Swastika stamp for the second phase of local polls after finding it low on quality.
EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma said the election authority has decided to use the same blue ink used in the first phase of local polls held on May 12.
He added that the red ink would remain wet for long and could smear other symbols.
After the blue ink used in the stamp on the ballot paper having a bluish tinge caused trouble in the vote counting process in the first phase, the EC had decided to purchase the red ink for clarity.
An election commissioner said Rs3.5 million was spent on the red ink. The low quality material has been blamed on outgoing Secretary Gopinath Mainali.
According to Spokesperson Sharma, the red ink was delivered to some districts recently. After the decision to replace the ink, the redundant product would be used in voter education programmes.