Argentine activist dies after being shot on campaign trail

Buenos Aires: An Argentine activist died Wednesday after being shot earlier this month while returning home from handing out leaflets, according to officials with the Radical Civic Union political party, or UCR.

The 22-year-old man was shot August 8, the day before primary polling for the country`s presidential election, which will take place October 25.

The circumstances of the shooting, in the northwestern province of Jujuy, are still not clear.

The center-left UCR has denounced the shooting and local police have opened an investigation.

In the election, UCR is aligned with PRO, the party of the conservative mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, who is currently second in the polls to Daniel Scioli. Scioli is backed by the coalition of President Cristina Kirchner.

The October election will go to a second round if no candidate wins more than 45 percent of the vote or 40 percent with a margin of victory of at least 10 percent.

With the business community largely hostile to Kirchner`s heavy-handed economic policy, Macri could rally the pro-change vote to defeat Scioli in a run-off.

Barred from running again by term limits, Kirchner, 62, is not standing for any post.