MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A town police chief in Mexico is allegedly linked to the recent murder of a candidate for mayor in the state of Michoacan, state prosecutors say.

The head of local security played a role in allowing Mr Enrique Hernandez to be gunned down while he was campaigning earlier this month, prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy said Wednesday.

According to the official, two local gang leaders hired gunmen to carry out the hit and asked the police chief to support the crime.

Following the agreement, the police chief and his subordinates did not act to prevent the killing, the prosecutor said.

Mr Hernandez was running for the leftist party Morena, and was also a former leader of vigilante groups formed by farmers in 2013 to combat the Knights Templar drug cartel.

Two other nearby mayoral candidates were also recently gunned down ahead of June 7 polls that many see as a test for President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration.