A politician in Mexico has been gunned down on Monday less than a week before Mexican voters go to the polls.

Rodolfo Torre Cantu, who was running for governor in the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas and was one of the favorites to win the election, was gunned down on Monday by masked gunmen.

At least four other people, all supporters of Cantu were also killed during the ambush while the high profile politician was heading towards campaign rallies.

Police have confirmed that Cantu was on his way to a series of campaign rallies when two vehicles, including the vehicle Cantu was travelling in was targeted by masked gunmen suspected of being linked to drug gangs.

The 46-year-old politician of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, was standing to be governor of Tamaulipas, a border state on Sunday’s gubernatorial elections.

Mexican politician’s have vowed to continue their campaigns despite the assassination, and have urged citizens not to be frightened to go to the polls to vote and not to be intimidated by the drug gangs.

The death of Torre Cantu was the first high profile murder of a Mexican politician since Luis Donaldo Colosio, who was a candidate for the Presidency was killed in 1994

According to Mexican media, Cantu who was running for governor of Tamaulipas had promised his main path of concentration would be fighting against drug cartels and drug related crimes if elected.

Tamaulipas, which is in central-northeastern Mexico is a state which borders Texas to its North and is the ground where there is fierce turf wars between two of the country’s most notorious drug gangs, the Gulf cartels and the Zetas.

One Mexican official has said that the Zetas most likely killed Rodolfo Torre Cantu to prove that they were the stronger and more savage organization of the two.

Some politician’s also say that the aim of the cartel’s, is to scare away voters and more importantly candidates who will run on Sunday’s gubernatorial elections.

“After Jose Mario Guajardo was assassinated (on May 13), many other candidates then announced that they were not going to run at the elections, and many would be candidates were deterred. “ said on Mexican official.

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