An Ecuadorian legislative candidate was assassinated early Monday, just weeks ahead of the general elections on August 20, authorities said on Tuesday.

Rider Sanchez, who was running for a seat in the national assembly, was killed in Quininde, in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas.

According to local media, he was shot several times and died shortly after in a hospital.

“Given the criminal attack in Quininde, Esmeraldas, against an assembly candidate for the province of Esmeraldas, our specialised units have been deployed to locate the perpetrators,” the National Police wrote on Twitter.

Mr Sanchez was a candidate of the Actuemos alliance, comprising the Avanza and SUMA parties, which is backing Otto Sonnenholzner for president.

“Day after day, violence plagues us. We are shocked by the murder of Rider Sanchez, our candidate in the province of Esmeraldas,” Mr Sonnenholzner said.

“We have a commitment: we will end this plague,” he added, alluding to a wave of violence that has gripped Ecuador in recent months, generating fear among the population.

Ecuador will hold early elections following President Guillermo Lasso’s dissolution of the national assembly in May amid a legislative push to impeach him.

Some 13.4 million Ecuadorians will be eligible to elect a new president and 137 members of the national parliament.

(Xinhua/NAN)