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 Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has won
more than 80 percent of the seats declared so far in the lower
house, a result that puts her on course to form the new cabinet, and
is well ahead in the upper house and regional assemblies.
If the full results confirm the trend, Suu Kyi's triumph will sweep
out an old guard of former generals that has run Myanmar since Thein
Sein in ushered in sweeping democratic and economic reforms four
years ago.
"U.S. President Obama...congratulated the president and the entire
government on having been able to hold a historic free and fair
general election," said presidential spokesman and Information
Minister Ye Htut on his Facebook page.
"He said America would continue cooperating with the Myanmar
government."
Obama has visited Myanmar twice in the past three years, hoping to
make its transition to democracy a foreign policy legacy of his
presidency.
Thein Sein and the powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing have already
endorsed Suu Kyi's victory, congratulating her on Wednesday on
winning the majority of the seats in the first free election in 25
years.
The two reiterated their commitment to respect the result and agreed
to Suu Kyi's request to hold reconciliation talks soon, although the
parties are still to agree on the details.
Such unambiguous endorsements of Suu Kyi's victory could smooth the
lengthy post-election transition, ahead of the first session of
parliament which reconvenes on Monday.
It also sets the stage for cooperation between democratic activists
and the army, which had fought them during half a century of
iron-fisted rule before a handover to a semi-civilian government in
2011.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE
"The government will respect and follow the people's choice and
decision, and work on transferring power peacefully according to the
timetable," read a statement posted on the Facebook page of the
presidential spokesman, adding that the president would work with
"all other people" to ensure stability in the post-election period.
The armed forces also congratulated Suu Kyi. The military continues
to wield considerable power in Myanmar's political institutions,
under a constitution drafted before the end of nearly 50 years of
junta rule.
In addition to holding an unelected 25 percent bloc of seats in
parliament, the commander-in-chief nominates the heads of three
powerful ministries - interior, defence and border security.
The interior ministry gives him control of the Southeast Asian
nation's pervasive bureaucracy, which could pose a significant
obstacle to the NLD's ability to execute policy.
It is unclear how Suu Kyi and the generals will work together.
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"Tatmadaw will do what is best in cooperation with the new
government during the post-election period. Public trust can be won
through correct deeds," said Min Aung Hlaing in a speech posted to
his Facebook account, refering to the military.
"Tatmadaw will continue to strength the multi-party democracy
system," he said.
Although Min Aung Hlaing's tone matched Suu Kyi's statements seeking
reconcilitation, their relationship is 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.
NO AUTHORITY
Suu Kyi has become increasingly defiant on the presidential clause
as the scale of her victory has become apparent, making it clear she
intends to run the country regardless of who the NLD elects as
president.
"I make all the decisions because I'm the leader of the winning
party. The president will be one whom we will choose just to meet
the requirements of the constitution," said Suu Kyi in an interview
with Channel News Asia.
"He will have no authority. He will act in accordance with the
decisions of the party," said Suu Kyi, adding that the president
will be "told exactly what he can do".
Results so far gave Suu Kyi's party 196 of 243 seats declared out of
the 330 seats not allocated to the military in the lower house.
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.
The NLD has said it is on course for more than 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.
Final results are due no later than two weeks after Sunday's poll.
(Additional reporting by Hnin Yadana Zaw; Writing by Simon Webb and
Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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