Andrea Gonzalez, the running-mate of assassinated politician Fernando Villavicencio, is to contest the presidential election in his place.
Villavicencio was shot three times in the head moments after speaking at a campaign rally in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, the BBC reports.
The decision to put 36-year-old Gonzalez forward as the party’s candidate was announced by the Construye party on social media. It said Gonzalez, whose career has focused mainly on environmental issues, would ‘guarantee the legacy’ of Villavicencio ‘and millions of Ecuadorians will accompany her in this purpose’.
According to the BBC, Villavicencio was one of eight candidates in the first round of the election. He was not the frontrunner, but was polling around the middle of the pack.
Police have said all suspects in his assassination are Colombian. One attacker was killed in an exchange of fire with police while several others escaped.
The BBC reports that Villavicencio’s death has shocked a nation that has largely escaped the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel wars and corruption that has blighted many of its neighbours. Crime has however shot up in recent years, fuelled by the growth of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels.
Villavicencio’s campaign focused on corruption and gangs, and he was one of only a few candidates to allege links between organised crime and government officials in Ecuador.
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