Ecuadoran presidential bidder Fernando Villavicencio Valencia assassinated in Quito

A state of emergency was declared throughout the country for two months Thursday after Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio Valencia was assassinated ahead of general elections.  

President Guillermo Lasso announced the emergency for the safety and security of the citizens with a vow to hold polls alongside declaring three-day mourning "to honour the memory of a patriot, of Fernando Villavicencio Valencia."

"The Armed Forces as of this moment are mobilised throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquillity of the country and the free and democratic elections of August 20," Guillermo Lasso said in his YouTube address.

The 59-year-old was shot dead Wednesday evening as he was leaving a rally in the capital Quito.

The centrist politician and anti-corruption crusader, who had complained of receiving threats against himself and his team, was the second most popular candidate in the country's August 20 presidential race, according to recent opinion polls.

Nine other people were injured in the attack, including a candidate running for the national legislature and two policemen, prosecutors said.

One of the alleged attackers was shot and killed by security personnel.

Prosecutors also said six other suspects were arrested in raids carried out in southern Quito and in a neighbouring town.

"This is a political crime that acquires a terrorist character and we do not doubt that this murder is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process," Lasso said.

President of the National Electoral Council Diana Atamaint added that "the date of the elections scheduled for August 20 remains unalterable."

In recent years, Ecuador has been hit by a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking.

At the end of July, Lasso declared a state of emergency in the town of Duran and the coastal provinces of Los Rios and Manabi, following a prison massacre and the murder of a mayor.