Andrea Gonzalez to contest the August 20 polls rather than Fernando Villavicencio, his social gathering introduced.
The working mate of Ecuador’s assassinated presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, has been named to face in his place within the August 20 elections, in accordance with their social gathering.
The centrist Construye social gathering mentioned in an announcement on Saturday that Andrea Gonzalez will substitute the 59-year-old chief, who was shot lifeless final week after leaving a marketing campaign occasion within the capital, Quito.
Gonzalez, a 36-year-old environmental activist who has not beforehand held public workplace, was chosen by Villavicencio to be his working mate within the snap election known as by outgoing President Guillermo Lasso.
Whereas ballots have already been printed, by regulation votes for Villvicencio will routinely switch to the social gathering candidate.
“The title of the vice presidential candidate will likely be introduced within the subsequent hours and will likely be chosen among the many most trusted of those that have shared the struggles of comrade Fernando Villavicencio,” the social gathering added.
Six suspects – all Colombian nationals whom police accuse of hyperlinks to felony teams – have been charged with the homicide of Villavicencio, an ex-lawmaker and journalist with a observe document of exposing corruption.
All of the suspects stay in custody after a choose on Thursday ordered they continue to be behind bars because the felony investigation continues.
Authorities on Saturday transferred the leader of a powerful gang accused of threatening Villavicencio earlier than he was assassinated to a maximum-security jail.
Veronica Sarauz, Villavicencio’s widow, informed reporters on Saturday she holds the state straight chargeable for her husband’s homicide.
“The federal government nonetheless has to offer quite a lot of solutions for every part that occurred,” she mentioned, after arriving on the information convention with an armed police escort and carrying a bulletproof vest and helmet.
Sarauz criticised the social gathering’s resolution to choose Gonzalez because the substitute. She described the social gathering’s resolution to faucet Gonzalez as “arbitrary”.
The South American nation of some 18 million has seen a rising tide of violence in recent times, together with a pointy improve within the homicide fee.
Villavicencio had been polling across the center of the pack in a discipline of eight candidates previous to his assassination.
Past safety, employment and migration have emerged as key marketing campaign points.
