The party of Fernando Villavicencio, the Ecuadorian presidential candidate who was killed, has changed its mind about who will replace him in the next election.
At a news gathering in Quito on Sunday, the Build Ecuador Movement said that it will now run journalist Christian Zurita in the presidential election next Sunday.
At first, the party said on Saturday that Andrea González Náder, who was the running mate for Mr. Villavicencio, would run for president in his place after the candidate was killed.
At first, it wasn’t clear if the country’s electoral authority, CNA, would accept it since the environmental activist was already registered as a candidate for vice president.
Now, people expect her to keep running for the same job.
“Because the CNE hasn’t given clear answers and because some politicians are angry, we won’t take any chances,” the party said.
After an election gathering in Quito on Wednesday, Mr. Villavicencio was shot and killed.
At least nine people were hurt in the attack, and after a gunfight with security forces, one of the suspects died from his wounds.
All six suspects were guys from Colombia, which is right next door.
President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador declared a state of emergency that will last for 60 days.
Both Mr. Zurita and Ms. Gónzalez Náder wore bulletproof vests to the news gathering on Sunday.
On August 20, the South American country will hold early elections for president and government.
These were needed because Mr. Lasso dissolved parliament in the middle of an impeachment trial for suspected theft.
Mr. Zurita is an investigative writer, just like Mr. Villavicencio was before he was killed.
According to the news, they were close friends and worked together to report on crime in the government of ex-President Rafael Correa (2007–2017).
(NAN) (dpa)