Late night marches decrying the murder took place in several cities, including Villavicencio's hometown of Alausi. Villavicencio, from the Andean province of Chimborazo, was a former union member at state oil company Petroecuador and later a journalist who denounced alleged millions in oil contract losses. The candidate, a former unionist and journalist, had on Tuesday made a report to the attorney general's office about an oil business, but no further details of his report were made public. Villavicencio opposed the suspension, it said, saying 'keeping silent and hiding in moments when criminals assassin citizens and authorities is an act of cowardice'. The party said discussions had been held recently about whether to suspend campaigning due to political violence, including the July murder of the mayor of Manta. Villavicencio's party Movimiento Construye said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that armed men attacked its Quito offices in a separate incident. According to opinion polls, his support was at 7.5%, ranking him fifth out of eight candidates. Villavicencio had pledged to combat corruption and reduce tax evasion if elected. Security concerns, along with employment and migration, are major voter concerns in presidential contest. Lasso's government has blamed rising violence on the streets and in prisons on criminal infighting to control trafficking routes used by Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and others to move drugs.

The office later said it had arrested six people so far in connection with the crime during raids in Quito. The violence injured nine other people, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers. The attorney general's office said one suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out. Voting for a new president will go ahead as planned on Aug. Lasso declared three days of mourning and a national state of emergency, saying the military would mobilize to guarantee security.

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