Electoral outcome in Myanmar will be respected by all parties

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy said it received a message from Information Minister Ye Htut on behalf of President Thein Sein congratulating it for leading the race for parliamentary seats in Sunday’s election.

A total of 333 representatives have been elected to parliament at three levels, according to the results announced by the UEC as of Tuesday night.

Burma’s president has promised a peaceful transfer of power to the victorious party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“After all the election tasks of Union Election Commission will be completed, we [both sides] will arrange for the talks [offered by the opposition leader]”, he said.

“A peaceful implementation of the people’s desire, which they expressed via the November 8 election, is very important for the country’s dignity and people’s peace of mind”, Suu Kyi wrote in letters to three men today – Thein Sein, Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of parliament and powerful military general, Min Aung Hlaing.

“So, even with the people behind her, Aung San Suu Kyi will face problems – because if she tries to force her way with the military, it will be like banging her head against the wall”, Robertson said.

She says “based on the national reconciliation, we would want to meet” and have discussions next week.

President Thein Sein has also pledged that his government “will respect the people’s decision and choice and will hand over power as scheduled”.

Ms Suu Kyi is barred from becoming president by a provision of the constitution which was passed during military rule.

Myanmar political experts say the NLD needs to capture two-thirds of the parliamentary seats to overcome the military’s veto in the bicameral legislature, known as the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which selects the president.

Results so far gave Suu Kyi’s party 135 of 149 seats declared out of the 330 seats not occupied by the military in the chamber.

In the lower house, 325 of the 440 seats are up for grabs.

She added that a National League for Democracy Government would not be vengeful towards the military officials who have ordered human rights abuses.

While her letters seek conciliation, Suu Kyi has become increasingly defiant on the presidential clause as the scale of her victory has become apparent.

The military-drafted constitution prohibits Suu Kyi from serving as president, but she has rankled the ruling party, which is the political arm of the military, by saying she would serve above the president.

It is gifted 25 percent of all parliamentary seats, as well as control of Myanmar’s security apparatus – meaning it will retain huge practical powers as a counterpoint to the NLD’s popular mandate.

It said she won 54,676 votes without giving more details of how many the losing ruling party candidate won or how many eligible voters were in the constituency.

While Burma’s people voted overwhelmingly to remove the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party from power, it is clear the army’s involvement in politics will not end, and the NLD will need to convince it to co-operate. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.

The Carter Centre, a team of election observers led by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s grandson, said it found the voting and counting process to be generally well conducted but noted problems including voting bans on members of the country’s minority Rohingya community and inconsistencies in making preliminary results available at constituency level.