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Tipp-Ex, which was once the tool of predilection for clerical workers who had to conceal typographical errors, became a peril like the presidential elections in Malawi.
Corrective liquid was widely used on the count sheets in last Tuesday's elections, prompting the main opposition to take legal action.
A court decision this weekend prevented the electoral commission from publishing further results until the irregularities were resolved and one-third of the constituencies were recounted.
The President of the Malawi Election Commission, Jane Ansah, admitted that the Tipp-Ex – or a similar liquid – was used in some polling station results sheets.
"This is disturbing because it is widespread, from Chitipa to Nsanje," she said, citing two districts at the opposite ends of Southeast Africa.
The commission did not provide corrective cash in the election materials, she said.
The role of the correction fluid has become an integral part of the battle for alleged interference in elections.
"We are just as surprised at the provenance of this Tipp-Ex, so we need to know where it's coming from and why they're using it while we insist that they do not use it." never, "said the Chief Electoral Officer, Sam Alfandika, to AFP. .
"We are curious to know what has really happened."
Tight race
In the elections, President Peter Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), fights a daunting challenge by opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party ( MCP).
In its court documents, the MCP reported irregularities in the vote, finding that it was alleged fraud.
Party spokesman, Eisenhower Mkaka, told AFP that there was "a lot of tippexing (of) results," adding that there also seemed to be "the same writing on the counting sheets from different polling stations ".
"It's a serious red flag – it's an indication that someone was trying to alter the results," Mkaka said.
Paul Chibingu, a leader of the United Transformation Movement, a smaller opposition party, said the use of the correction fluid "shows that they are trying to rig the elections by changing the numbers."
Michael Jana, Malawi policy specialist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, warned that Malawi was facing a major democracy test after the high court postponed indefinitely the publication of the final results of the presidential vote .
"Such cases raise fear of rigging and affect the credibility of elections," he said.
The results are expected to be announced Wednesday, but the High Court has reserved its judgment until an indefinite date.
Legislative and local elections, which took place on the same day as the presidential election, were not affected.
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