Bloomberg Línea — Christian Zurita is the candidate who will replace Fernando Villavicencio, who was assassinated following a rally in Quito on August 9, for the August 20 presidential elections in Ecuador.
The party had previously announced that its new candidate would be Andrea González, who was Villavicencio’s pick as running mate. The nomination has now been updated due to legal issues surrounding González’s proposed candidacy.
Construye Ecuador tweeted on Sunday that Zurita would now vie for the presidency following the “furious reaction from some political sectors”, and in order to “not take any risks”.
Had González remained as the party’s candidate and participated in the elections, her aspiration would be at the center of a legal debate, since candidacies in Ecuador are not able to renounce their roles, disallowing her from resigning her candidacy and assuming the presidential candidacy, and the law establishes that a replacement for Villvicencio had to be sought.
Zurita was a personal friend of Villavicencio, and is also a journalist. The new candidate is the founder of news portals focused on investigation such as Milhojas and Periodismo de Investigación.
He is recognized for his career in various Ecuadorian media and for his investigative reporting into drug trafficking and organized crime.
Villavicencio had also focused on fighting organized crime, stating during his campaign that he had received death threats from alleged drug traffickers.