Mexico City, 28 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - In the small town of Maravatío in central Mexico, two candidates for the office of mayor were killed in one day.

On Tuesday, Mexico's conservative opposition National Action Party (PAN) demanded the authorities conduct a thorough investigation into the murders and bring the perpetrators to justice.

PAN's Armando Pérez and left-wing Morena party's candidate Miguel Ángel Zavala were both shot dead in their cars on Monday according to the Attorney General's Office in the western state of Michoacán. The background was initially unclear.

According to media reports, around a dozen candidates and politicians have already been killed in the Latin American country before the official start of campaigning for national and regional elections on June 2.

Most of the victims of the attacks have been local politicians.

Left-wing populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will not be allowed to run again in the elections on June 2. The constitution only allows presidents to serve one six-year term.

Mexico appears poised to see its first female president, as both the ruling coalition and the opposition have nominated women as candidates for the 2024 election.

The candidate of López Obrador's party Morena, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, is clearly in the lead in the polls. Former senator Xóchitl Gálvez is running for the opposition.

Photo: MIA archive