Suu Kyi party set to form government

Gandhi remembered her “long struggle and steadfast commitment” to the cause of democracy and underlined the deep relationship shared between the Congress party and Suu Kyi.

A huge crowd gathers outside the headquarters of National League of Democracy (NLD) party displaying a huge portrait of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on November 9, 2015.

Myanmar’s main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has won majority in Sunday’s parliamentary polls and the right to form a new government independently in the south Asian nation ruled by an isolationist military junta.

Suu Kyi and her party have not succeeded in amending the country’s constitution, but in the wake of her party’s landslide she is looking to govern from a position – in her own words – “above the president”.

Picking a president: Suu Kyi is Burma’s most popular politician, but she can’t become president.

The ruling Communist Party invited her for a China visit in June, where she met President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, the traditional greeting place for foreign leaders.

The confirmation came five years to the day since the junta released Suu Kyi from house arrest.

It is the second time the NLD has won a national election by a landslide but, unlike in 1990, it is expected the military will allow them to take power. The results have shown a resounding rejection of military rule in Myanmar, which has been under army control for half a century.

On Friday just after midday, figures disclosed by the Union Election Commission (UEC) confirmed that the NLD had finally surpassed that 329 mark.

But a quarter of seats were given uncontested to the military, meaning it remains hugely influential.

Daw Suu Kyi told the BBC: “the results have been coming in steadily and we will probably get around 75% of the Union legislature”.

While Burma’s people voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to remove the military-backed ruling party from power, it is clear that the army’s involvement in politics will not end, and the NLD will need to convince it to co-operate. They included more than 1 million Muslims, including ethnic Rohingya who were stripped of their citizenship, and ethnic groups living in northern border areas where militias have been battling the army.

Aung San Suu Kyi is not eligible for the presidency under the 2008 constitution because her sons are foreign nationals.

Obama called Suu Kyi to offer congratulations and to commend her “for her tireless efforts and sacrifice over so many years to promote a more inclusive, peaceful and democratic Burma”.

There had been an expectation that the NLD would win, but there had been no expectation that it would do so by such a margin.

Mr Obama also called President Thein Sein to congratulate Burma on its success in conducting the election and the importance of respecting the outcome.