Phillip Murgor. (Photo: Beverlyne Musili, Standard)

Lawyer Phillip Murgor, who unveiled his decision to run for the presidential elections under the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party late last year, has quit the race, citing Kenya's tribal voting patterns.

He said his pronouncement came "after long reflection on the terrible state of the circus that characterises the country's politics", which he said is driven by the scourges of corruption and tribalism.

"Over time, leadership and by extension the presidency, has become a matter of who can galvanise the tribal numbers or groupings using vast amounts of unexplained, many times illegally obtained finance," he said.

Mr Murgor added that conducting campaigns for several months is unsustainable for any candidate of modest and accountable means.