Indelible Ink Leaves Voters With Clean Thumbs, Opposition Says

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Some of the indelible ink used to mark voters’ fingers as a safeguard against multiple voting was not so indelible, opposition spokesmen charged Sunday.

Opposition vice presidential candidate Virgilio Godoy held up a clean thumb at a news conference and said he’d been able to wash his finger after voting.

The ink is supposed to stay on the skin for three days.

“We’ve informed the Supreme Electoral Council,” said Godoy, who said the opposition had received scattered reports from Managua and the provincial capital of Matagalpa on the problem.

Election officials said they were investigating the problem and noted that the indelible ink was only one of several safeguards against multiple voting.