Gunmen killed a local election candidate in a central Mexican state plagued by cartel-related violence, his party said Tuesday, the latest in a wave of murders linked to the June polls. Alejandro Galicia, who was running for municipal councilor in Guanajuato state, was shot dead Monday when returning from a tour of the area, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) said. A local PRD leader was also seriously wounded in the attack, it said, calling for a full investigation. "Our country is sinking into an abyss of violence and this electoral process cannot be marked by these kinds of bloody events," the left-wing party said in a statement. The government pledged earlier this month to boost security for candidates ahead of the June 6 national, regional and local polls. Dozens of politicians have been murdered since September in Mexico, where running for office can be a death sentence due to violence linked to corruption and the drugs trade. Guanajuato is one of the country's most violent states due to the presence of rival gangs trafficking stolen fuel. sem/dr/to