QUITO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- An Ecuadorian legislative candidate was assassinated early Monday, just weeks ahead of the general elections to be held on Aug. 20, authorities said.

Rider Sanchez, who was running for a seat in the National Assembly, was killed in the town of Quininde, in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas.

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

"Given the criminal attack in Quininde, Esmeraldas, at dawn today, against an assembly candidate for the province of Esmeraldas, our specialized units have been deployed to locate the perpetrators," the National Police said via Twitter.

Sanchez was a candidate of the Actuemos alliance made up of 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," Sonnenholzner said via Twitter.

"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 Assembly. Enditem

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