Quito, Jul 18 (IANS): An Ecuadorian legislative candidate has been assassinated, ahead of the general elections slated to be held on August 20, authorities said.

Rider Sanchez, who was running for a seat in the National Assembly, was killed on Monday in the town of Quininde, in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas, reports Xinhua news agency.

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

"Given the criminal attack in Quininde, Esmeraldas, at dawn today, against an assembly candidate for the province of Esmeraldas, our specialised 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.