Ecuador awaits funeral for assassinated candidate, suspects charged

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio speaks during a campaign event at a school minutes before he was shot to death outside the same school in Quito, Ecuador. Picture: AP

Supporters of assassinated Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio will host a public memorial for the slain candidate on Friday, after the attorney general's office charged six suspects in his death.

Villavicencio, a former lawmaker and crusading anti-corruption journalist, was gunned down leaving a campaign event on Wednesday evening, less than two weeks before the election.