'This is a do-or-die battle for corruption cartels,' says Raila after filing presidential petition

During a national address at the Kenya International Conventional Centre (KICC) on Monday, Odinga said that the corruption cartels have compromised the just-concluded elections which led to malpractices in the electoral process.

In what he termed as a "do or die battle", Odinga said that the presidential petition challenging William Ruto's victory will largely aid in weeding out the graft-linked individuals.

"This is a do or die battle for the corruption cartels who have everything to lose should the forces of democracy take over. The corruption cartels have prepared compromise electoral systems, bribe election officials, make security systems look other way. We believe that is what happened in this election," noted Odinga.

The ODM boss further, in a lightly veiled attack on his rivals, argued that the cartels has been meddling into electoral processes in attempts to sway off election officials and candidates to cower under their commandeering.

"For the sake of the Kenya future, the corrupt network must not only be stopped but also be crashed. This attempted take over of the country in this election has not been an isolated phenomenon," said Odinga.

"The election cartel has been intruding into our elections by not only financing specific candidates but also threatening candidates and election officials. They have suppressed the participation of voters who support rival political formations."

Odinga was speaking at the premise moments after filing a presidential petition to challenge president-elect William Ruto's win in the August 9 polls, which he has since termed as null and void.