Violence against political candidates has soared in Mexico as the country is bracing for general elections that will decide thousands of posts on Sunday.

The elections, which will also decide who becomes the next president, pits Claudia Sheinbaum, running for the ruling Morena Party, against Xochitl Galvez, the main opposition candidate.

Both have promised to reduce the high homicide rates in the country.

More than 30 candidates or aspiring candidates in regions across Mexico have been killed from September to May, according to different estimates.

Security analysts say the killings are mostly linked to drug cartels seeking to influence local elections.

"The country's security situation depends on the national war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel," David Saucedo, a consultant who works with state governments and companies on national security issues, told Reuters.

Over the past few years, this rivalry has expanded to ever more territory, while smaller crime groups have further entrenched their power, including in places like Michoacan, one of the country's most violent areas, according to security experts.

Six out of 10 Mexicans consider insecurity the country's main problem, according to an annual public survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Wednesday marked a bloody end to campaigning for Sunday's elections. Jose Alfredo Cabrera Barrientos, mayoral candidate for the municipality of Coyuca de Benitez, was assassinated on Wednesday afternoon at the closing of his political campaign in the southern state of Guerrero.

A day before that, one candidate was murdered and another wounded by gunfire.

In Morelos state, the victim was Ricardo Arizmendi, a candidate for mayor of the city of Cuautla.

In Jalisco state, candidate Gilberto Palomar, who was running for mayor of the Encarnacion de Diaz municipality, and two of his aides were shot inside a home.

This election campaign has seen the highest number of violent incidents reported against candidates, according to the risk consultancy Integralia.

A recent Integralia report counted 560 incidents, way above the previous high of 389 during the last presidential election, even if the number of murdered candidates is slightly below the 2021 gubernatorial elections.

In the face of the attacks, the Mexican government has extended security protection usually involving armed guards to around 500 candidates throughout the country, who have said their lives are at risk. That's only a tiny fraction of the total candidates running for more than 20,000 political posts in Sunday's vote.

President Lopez Obrador has promised to deploy over 27,000 troops, including military personnel and National Guard members, to guarantee security in Sunday's elections.

(With input from agencies)