Colombian authorities announced Wednesday that investigations were underway into seven killings of candidates in Sunday’s local elections, whose campaigning has been marred by a spike in violence that authorities blamed on rebels and drug-trafficking thugs.

Attorney General Francisco Barbosa told the press that investigations are underway into 1,519 criminal cases related to these elections, including seven for murders: six candidates for municipal councils and a candidate for county parliament.

The murders were committed at the end of June.

Mr. Barbosa also warned that 261 of Colombia’s 1,102 municipalities are considered at “high risk” because of threats, which he did not elaborate on, on election day.

The country, which is struggling to turn the page from a decades-long civil war, has seen a run-up to an uptick in violence attributed to armed groups, from rebel groups to drug-trafficking gangs. Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine.

Those elections will be held as peace talks are underway between the government of Social Democrat President Gustavo Petros and armed groups, including the ELN, officially the last rebel group continuing the armed struggle in the country, as well as former FARC dissidents, who have rejected the 2016 peace agreement.

Almost 39 of Colombia’s 50 million citizens are called to the polls on Sunday to elect mayors, city councilors, governors and members of provincial parliaments for the period 2024-2027.

Some 220,000 members of the security forces will be deployed on Sunday across the country to guarantee the smooth conduct of the election, while the observers overseeing it will number about 5,700.