Odinga was addressing journalists on arrival from Ivory Coast where he had been on a two-day visit, to convince Gbagbo to step down. The Kenyan PM is the African Union’s special representative to Ivory Coast.

“Gbagbo has no option but to negotiate an exit, to pave way for the legitimate President of the country Alassane Ouattara to take over,” said Odinga adding that African incumbent leaders who have lost elections should respect the rule of law and quit.

"We have had this transition for far too long where the incumbents lose elections and refuse to accept the verdict of the people and then eventually negotiate a power-sharing arrangement. We don't want this to become the norm on the African continent," he said.

Odinga himself claimed to have won the 2007 Presidential elections but was ‘cheated out’ by the then incumbent Mwai Kibaki (now President) and the only solution was to chart a power sharing deal, to quell the post election violence.

Dignified exit

Mr. Ouattara had pledged to accord his rival "a dignified exit once he concedes defeat."

According to Odinga, Alassane Ouattara has stated his willingness to ensure a dignified exit for Gbagbo provided the latter accepted the outcome of the run-off elections as declared by the independent electoral commission and as certified by the UN representative.

"Ouattara is the duly elected President of Ivory Coast and everyone knows it,” said Odinga.

Odinga maintained that in accordance with the will of the Ivorian electorate, Ouattara is the legitimate and recognized President of Ivory Coast.

Odinga was joined by Presidents Boni Yayi of Benin, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde and Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone - representing ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).

In a recent development, the AU and ECOWAS have not ruled out the use of military force but as a final measure.

"The use of force is a last resort because as you know this will cause too many deaths and these are things which we want to avoid," said Odinga.

He maintained that dialogue and not guns would bring the issue to a close.

Meanwhile, Gbagbo has agreed to negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis without any conditions and has also lifted the blockade around Hotel Du Golf, which was the temporary headquarters of the President-elect, Alassane Ouattara.