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 Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has won
over 90 percent of the seats declared so far in the lower house and
is well ahead in the upper house and regional assemblies.
If the final results confirm the trend, Suu Kyi's triumph will sweep
out an old guard of former generals that has run Myanmar since the
junta handed over power to President Thein Sein's semi-civilian
government in 2011.
The armed forces continue to wield considerable power in Myanmar's
political institutions, enshrined in a constitution drafted before
the end of nearly 50 years of rule. It is unclear how Suu Kyi and
the generals will work together.
In letters to the commander-in-chief and the president dated Nov. 10
which the NLD released to media on Wednesday, Suu Kyi requested
meetings within a week to discuss the basis of "national
reconciliation."
"It is very important for the dignity of the country and to bring
peace of mind to the people," Suu Kyi said in the letter.
 Information Minister and Presidential Spokesman Ye Htut said on his
Facebook page: "In response to the letter from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
the president this morning replied to her that the meeting would be
coordinated when the UEC (Union Election Commission)
election-related task is finished."
Relations between Suu Kyi and armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing are
said to be strained.
One of the biggest sources of tension between Suu Kyi and the
military is a clause in the constitution barring her from the
presidency because her children are foreign nationals.
Few doubt the military inserted the clause to rule her out.
'MAKING ALL DECISIONS'
While her letters seek conciliation, Suu Kyi has become increasingly
defiant on the presidential clause as the scale of her victory has
become apparent.
She has made it clear she will run the country regardless of who the
NLD elects as president and described the constitution as "very
silly".
"We'll find one," she told the BBC in an interview on Tuesday,
referring to her choice of president. "But that won't stop me from
making all the decisions as the leader of the winning party."
Results so far gave Suu Kyi's party 134 of 149 seats declared out of
the 330 seats not allocated to the military in the lower house.
Under the junta-crafted constitution, a quarter of the seats in both
chambers are unelected and reserved for the armed forces.
To form Myanmar's first democratically elected government since the
early 1960s, the NLD needs to win more than two-thirds of seats that
were contested in parliament.
The NLD has said it is on course for over 250 seats in the lower
house, well above the 221 needed to control the chamber. Reuters was
not able to independently verify the party's estimates of its own
performance.
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The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), created by
the junta and led by retired soldiers, has conceded defeat in a poll
that was a major milestone on Myanmar's rocky path from dictatorship
to democracy.
Suu Kyi also requested a meeting with former USDP chairman Shwe
Mann, the lower house speaker. He lost his seat, but before the
election had been seen as a presidential contender.
He antagonized the military while in parliament and built close ties
to Suu Kyi, arousing the suspicion of many in his party.
CONTROL OF BUREAUCRACY
In addition to his bloc of parliament seats, the commander-in-chief
nominates the heads of three powerful and big-budget ministries -
interior, defense and border security.
The interior ministry gives him control of the pervasive
bureaucracy, which could pose a significant obstacle to the NLD's
ability to execute policy.
Among other formidable challenges for Suu Kyi is trying to put an
end to decades of conflict with armed ethnic groups. Thein Sein
failed to do that despite protracted talks that led to a ceasefire
with some groups. The government's chief ceasefire negotiator, Aung
Min, was among the heavyweight politicians that lost in the
elections.
Sunday's vote was Myanmar's first freely contested general election
since Thein Sein ushered in a period of reforms that prompted a
partial lifting of international sanctions.
Money from abroad flowed in quickly afterward. Foreign direct
investment stood at $8 billion in fiscal 2014/15, more than five
times the flows recorded just two years earlier.
Washington welcomed the election as a victory for Myanmar's people,
but said it would watch how the democratic process moved forward
before lifting the remaining U.S. sanctions.
Final results are due no later than two weeks after Sunday's poll.
(Additional reporting by Hnin Yadana Zaw and Antoni Slodkowski;
Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
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