Ecuadorian presidential candidate shot dead few days to election

A popular Ecuadoran presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio Valencia, has been shot dead at a political rally few days to the country’s presidential election.

Local media reports that the 59-year-old politician who was an outspoken critic of government corruption in the country, was shot dead while leaving the rally in the nation’s capital of Quito on Wednesday.

The assassination of Valencia has prompted President Guillermo Lasso to declare a two-month state of emergency while blaming it on organized crime, but said general elections slated for August 20 would be held as scheduled.

“The Armed Forces as of this moment are mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquility of the country and the free and democratic elections of August 20,” Lasso said in a YouTube address.

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“This is a political crime that acquires a terrorist character and we do not doubt that this murder is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process,” he added.

The president also declared three days of national mourning “to honor the memory of a patriot, of Fernando Villavicencio Valencia.”

“Villavicencio, an anti-corruption crusader who had complained of receiving threats, was murdered as he was leaving a stadium in Quito after holding a campaign rally,” the police said in a statement shortly after he was shot dead.

Villavicencio was the second most popular candidate in the presidential race, according to recent opinion polls. He was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement and was one of the most critical voices against corruption, especially during the government of former president Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017.

He had filed many judicial complaints against high ranking members of the Correa government.

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