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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Claire Phipps and Matthew Weaver

Aung San Suu Kyi vows to make all the decisions in Myanmar's new government – as it happened

Aung San Suu Kyi vows to make all the decisions as leader of the winning party.

There were a few more regional gains for the NLD in the ninth round of election result announcements, but that’s it for the results today.

With only a quarter of the seats declared and no more official election announcements due until tomorrow we’re going to stop the blog for now.

Updated

The election commission is making its ninth round of announcements about the election result. If it continues at this pace (121 seats so far) it will take 32 rounds to complete the process.

So far in this round only regional assembly results have been announced, with yet more victories for the NLD. As yet there has been no more to add to the crucial tally of seats in the lower and upper houses of parliament. That still stands at 121 with 107 going to the NLD.

Updated

Suu Kyi: 'I'll make all the decisions'

Aung San Suu Kyi casts her ballot
Aung San Suu Kyi casts her ballot Photograph: STRINGER/Reuters

The military-drafted constitution banning Aung San Suu Kyi from being president won’t stop her wielding power, the NLD leader told the BBC.

In her full interview with Fergal Keane she said: “I’ll make all the decisions.”

Under the constitution anyone with foreign children is barred from becoming president, in a clause seen as the military’s attempt to stop her taking power. But Suu Kyi, who has two British sons, suggested she would still be Myanmar’s leader.

Asked what she meant by stating last week that she would be “above the president”, Suu Kyi said: “If I’m required to field a president who meets the requirements of section F of the constitution, alright then we’ll find one. But that won’t stop me making all the decisions as the leader of the winning party.”

Asked if she planned to be president in all but name, she said “It’s a name only,” and after laughing added: “A rose by any other name.”

She conceded that Myanmar’s constitution, which guarantees the military 25% of seats and several key ministries, could be described as “democracy on a leash”, but she said Sunday’s election was the beginning of a process.

She added that a National League for Democracy government would not be vengeful towards the military officials who have ordered human rights abuses. “We are not going in for vengeance. We are not going in for a series of Nuremberg trials or anything like that. But people must change their ways. It doesn’t mean we will simply let people get away with what they have been doing for the last 50 years,” she said.

Updated

Summary

Here’s a roundup of where thing currently stand:

Suu Kyi: 'winning leader leads government'

Channel News Asia has broadcast that post-election interview with Aung San Suu Kyi in which she signals that the NLD intends to govern by bypassing the president.

The appointed president will have “no authority” when her party is able to form the government, she said. She added:

“He will have no authority, that he will act in accordance with the decisions of the party. That is the only logical way to do it. Because in any democratic country, it’s the leader of the winning party that becomes the leader of the government. If this constitution doesn’t allow it, then we will have to make arrangements so that we can proceed along usual democratic lines.”

Such an approach is likely to anger Myanmar military rulers, analysts have warned. Richard Horsey from the International Crisis Group said: “It crosses one the military’s clear red lines, which is that Suu Kyi cannot run the country.”

Updated

Myanmar’s military president Thein Sein will congratulate Aung San Suu Kyi once the official results have been announced, an unnamed official told the Irrawaddy news site.

It quotes the official as saying :

“He [Thein Sein] doesn’t do it now because the whole official results haven’t been released yet. When it’s all official, he will congratulate her. Right now, he is waiting for the UEC [Union Election Commission] results.”

“He will do it as a matter of respect to the winner from a loser.”

Myanmar President Thein Sein and his wife Khin Khin Win after casting their votes at a poll station in Naypyitaw.
Myanmar President Thein Sein and his wife Khin Khin Win after casting their votes at a poll station in Naypyitaw. Photograph: Aung Htet/EPA

Latest official tally

With 121 seats declared out of the 498 seats up for grabs in both houses, here’s the latest official tally:

So far 33 seats in Amyotha hluttaw or upper house have been announced:

  • National League for Democracy NLD 29 seats
  • Union Solidarity and Development Party USDP 2 seats
  • Zomi National Congress 1 seat
  • Independent 1 seat

So far 88 seats have been declared in Pyithu hluttaw or lower house of parliament:

  • National League for Democracy NLD 78 seats
  • Union Solidarity and Development Party USDP 5 seats
  • Shan Nationalities League for Democracy SNLD 2 seats
  • Wa Democratic party WDP 1 seat
  • Kachin State Democracy Party KSDP 1 seat
  • Zomi National Congress 1 seats

The NLD needs at least two thirds of the total in both houses to form a government. So far it has won 88.4% of the seats declared.

Updated

NLD takes 29 out of 33 upper house seats

The NLD has secured its first officially declared seats in the upper house, taking 29 of the 33 constituencies announced, Myanmar Now reports.

There are 224 seats Amyotha Hluttaw, including 25% reserved for the military.

Updated

The commission is announcing result in the Amyotha hluttaw or upper house for the first time, according Thin Lei Win, chief correspondent for Myanmar Now.

Soe Thane is a close Myanmar’s president but ran as an independent.

The election commission is about to make its eighth round of announcements about the election results amid growing frustration at how long the process is taking. So far fewer than a fifth of seats have been declared in the Pyithu hluttaw or lower house.

The opposition National League for Democracy fears officials are up to something.

Earlier its spokesman, U Win Htein suggested the commission was “trying to be crooked.”

Speaking to reporters he said: “The Union Election Commission has been delaying intentionally because maybe they want to play a trick or something. It doesn’t make sense that they are releasing the results piece by piece. It shouldn’t be like that.”

Channel News Asia has yet to broadcast its post-election interview with Aung San Suu Kyi, but it quoted her confirming that the president will have “no authority” under an NLD government.

It reported her saying: the appointed president must understand that all instructions will come from her, as she is the leader of the party. This will not affect how the government is run, she stressed.

Supporters of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi read the official results of the elections from a newspaper outside the National League of Democracy headquarters in Yangon
Supporters of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi read the first official results of the elections from a newspaper outside the National League of Democracy headquarters in Yangon Photograph: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s the Guardian’s most recent news piece on the latest results and predictions:

Aung San Suu Kyi’s plans to seize power for the NLB by bypassing the presidency will anger the generals, warns Richard Horsey from the International Crisis Group.

The opposition leader told Channel News Asia under a NLD government the presidency will have no power (see earlier). This echoes hints she gave last week when she said would be “above the president”.

In blogpost, Horsey writes:

Myanmar’s powerful military and the commander in chief surely see this as a provocative and confrontational stance. It crosses one the military’s clear red lines, which is that Suu Kyi cannot run the country. She explicitly challenged the constitution’s balance of power between the president and commander in chief. So if Suu Kyi is “above the president” and also claims for herself a position “above the commander in chief”, I just don’t see that going well.

Of course, there are now nearly five months before power is transferred to the new administration, and that gives a lot of time to work out how the NLD and the military are going to work together. If Suu Kyi works at building those relationships and reassures the military that she’s going to work with them, there is no reason for confrontation between the two. If, however, she focuses on pushing constitutional change and on trying to leverage her popular mandate to challenge the military’s position, there could be trouble ahead.

Updated

NLD declares (unofficial) victory

The NLD has announced its unofficial victory in the election with 82% of seats in the lower and upper houses of parliament, a senior official told Oliver Holmes in Yangon.

The NLD informally monitored many of the polling stations during the ballot count and reported back to head office. The percentage is based on results it has counted so far.

“They are our unofficial results – 82% based on constituencies,” NLD spokesman and aide to Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Htein, told the Guardian.

He said the NLD is waiting for the Union Election Commission to confirm a similar figure in the formal results.

The Myanmar Times has had similar briefing from the opposition.

It says the NLD has won 271 of the 330 seats in the lower house, and 135 of 168 in the upper house.

We might get an unscheduled trickle of more results in the next 15 minutes.

The election commission is due to give a press conference at 4pm (9.30GMT). Earlier it had said the next round of result will be announced at 6pm, so it is unclear what will be announced in this imminent press conference.

Thailand’s leader Prayuth Chan-ocha
Thailand’s leader Prayuth Chan-ocha Photograph: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters

The leader of the Thai military regime that deposed a democratically-elected government in a coup last year congratulated Myanmar for conducting its first free election in 25 years, according to the local Khaosod news website, writes Oliver Holmes.

Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha praised Myanmar President Thein Sein for the high turnout and thanked authorities for allowing observers from Thailand to monitor the polls o f their neighbours, said Sek Wannamethee, Thailand’s foreign affairs spokesman.

“We also emphasised the intention of the Thai government to support the political development and national reconciliation process in Myanmar, which will lead the country to peace, stability and progress,” Sek told reporters today.

Updated

In the latest round of results the electoral commission only announced results in the state and regional parliaments, according to Thin Lei Win, chief correspondent of Myanmar Now.

Once again those regional results went overwhelming in favour of the opposition NLD. But the crucial tally for the parliament remains the same as it did nearly three hours ago. Of the 88 seats declared so far the NLD has 78 seats (88%). The party needs two-thirds (429) of the 498 seats to form a government. A quarter of the seats are reserved for the military.

Round eight of the protracted results process will happen at 6pm local time (11.30GMT).

The latest drops in the drip-drip process of the official announcement of the election results are about to occur again.

This is the seventh round of results, and so far less than a fifth of the results have been announced.

The elections were not “free and fair” former Irish president Mary Robinson has told Voice of America.

Earlier, Robinson who is part of Carter Center observer mission, congratulated Myanmar on the conduct of the election. But she clarified her remarks by pointing out the flaws in the process.

Robinson also warned that the outcome of the election is not yet clear.

NLD to bypass the presidency

As the military-drafted constitution won’t allow Aung San Suu Kyi to be president she appears to be preparing to bypass the institution altogether.

In a new interview with Channel News Asia the National League for Democracy leader is quoted as saying that president will have no authority if her party is allowed to form a government.

There’s been more international praise for the conduct of the election and at least one world leader has congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi on her party’s victory.

In a message that appeared to be aimed the ruling generals UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar “maintain the dignified spirit, calm and respect throughout the completion of the electoral process.”

Ban’s office said the UN would be making more considered comments in the coming days, but in its initial reaction to the election it added:

The Secretary-General wishes to congratulate the broad masses of the people from various walks of life in Myanmar for their patience, dignity and enthusiasm as they participated in Sunday’s epochal polls. He commends the Union Election Commission as well as its various state, regional and local institutions for their important work. Observers to the process, both domestic and international, have also witnessed this momentous event.

Former Irish president Mary Robinson, who is part of the Carter Center’s election observer mission, also broadly praised the conduct of the election.

Lithuania’s president Daila Grybauskaitė went further by hailing the election as step towards democracy and congratulated the NLD’s leader.

Updated

Summary

Here’s where things stand currently as votes continue to be counted in Myanmar’s election:

  • Aung San Suu Kyi has hailed the election as not free but “largely fair” as her party, the National League for Democracy, looks set to win the most votes, and possibly to secure a majority in parliament.
  • Latest results for the Pyithu hluttaw (lower house of parliament) put the NLD on 78 seats, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party on five, with minority parties taking just a handful more.
  • A senior member of the military-backed USDP Kyi Win appeared to concede, saying:

Our USDP lost completely. The NLD has won. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has to take responsibility now … we congratulate them anyway.

  • The very slow release of results prompted one NLD official to suggest the electoral commission – which was appointed by the current government – is “trying to be crooked”.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters
  • Observers from the European Union and the US Carter Center hailed the election as a success, while insisting that several reforms – including addressing the exclusion of Rohingya Muslims – are still needed to ensure genuine democracy in Myanmar.
  • Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, chief observer for the EU election observation mission, said “free and fair” was a “simplistic label” but told reporters the election was “credible” and “transparent”. The EU mission gave the election process a 95% positive rating.
  • But observers said the election cannot be deemed “truly genuine” because not all seats were up for election – 25% were ringfenced for the military.

What happens next

The electoral commission publishes its next tranche of results at 3pm local time (7.30pm AEDT/8.30am GMT); we’ll have those live on this blog.

It is unclear at the current rate how long it will take to get a definitive picture of the new parliamentary make-up, especially as votes are also being counted in regional legislatures.

The key figure is 329 – this is the number of seats needed by the NLD to secure a majority across the two houses of parliament.

I’m handing over the reins of the live blog now to my colleague Matthew Weaver. Thanks for reading.

Official results have been trickling out very slowly – there have been only two updates today, only one of which was for the national parliament (the other was for regional legislatures).

The next tranche is not due to be released by the electoral commission until 3pm local time (7.30pm AEDT/8.30am GMT). Results from only 88 of the 323 contested seats in the lower house have so far been published.

Why so slow? One NLD official has suggested the commission – which was appointed by the current government – wants to “maybe play a trick” and is intentionally slowing the results.

NLD spokesman Win Htien told reporters at Suu Kyi’s house after a party meeting:

The Union Election Commission has been delaying intentionally because maybe they want to play a trick or something.

It doesn’t make sense that they are releasing the results piece by piece. It shouldn’t be like that.

They are trying to be crooked.

Souvenirs bearing the image of Aung San Suu Kyi at the NLD shop in Yangon.
Souvenirs bearing the image of Aung San Suu Kyi at the NLD shop in Yangon. Photograph: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images

Jason Carter is asked whether members of the armed forces were able to exercise their right to vote in secret:

We do have some concerns with regard to the secrecy of the vote.

The ballots were secret, he says, but there are concerns over how they were “assessed” (presumably, counted).

He says the anti-Muslim sentiment throughout the country was of great concern to the Carter Center observers, reiterating the reservations expressed by the EU monitors earlier.

As well as the EU observers – see a summary of their conclusions here – the US Carter Center had representatives in Myanmar to monitor the election, my colleague Oliver Holmes reports.

“Voting process on election day was a success,” said Jason Carter, trustee of the Carter Center and grandson of former US president Jimmy Carter.

But he added: “We have to acknowledge that Myanmar’s transition to democracy is incomplete and ongoing”, citing the 25% of seats reserved for the military in parliament and restrictions on the press.

He also spoke about the disenfranchisement of minority Muslim populations.

“Most of Myanmar’s Rohingya population were excluded from the election,” Carter said.

Updated

A senior member of the military-backed ruling USDP has reportedly conceded that the party has lost to Suu Kyi’s NLD.

Senior USDP member and retired army officer Kyi Win told news agency AFP from party headquarters in the capital Naypyidaw:

Our USDP lost completely. The NLD has won.

This is the fate of our country. Let them (the NLD) work.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has to take responsibility now … we congratulate them anyway.

(Daw is an honorific term.)

Updated

Suu Kyi: election 'not fair but largely free'

Aung San Suu Kyi has given her first post-election interview to the BBC.

She said the polls were not fair but had been “largely free”.

The times are different, the people are different. I find the people are far more politicised now than they were back, not just in 1990, but much more politicised than they were in 2012, when we campaigned for the by-election, and very much more alert to what it going on around them.

And then of course the communications revolution, which has made a huge difference; everybody gets on to the net and informs everybody else of what is happening.

And so it’s much more difficult for those who wish to engage in irregularities to get away with it.

A large-screen TV shows Aung San Suu Kyi at the NLD headquarters in Yangon.
A large-screen TV shows Aung San Suu Kyi at the NLD headquarters in Yangon. Photograph: Amanda Mustard/AP

Updated

Fresh results from Myanmar’s election on Tuesday showed Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party winning dozens more seats in parliament as observers declared the poll “credible and transparent”, writes Oliver Holmes from Yangon.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) said its own tally of results posted at polling stations around the country showed it was on track to take more than two-thirds of seats in the lower house of parliament, enough to form Myanmar’s first democratically elected government since the early 1960s.

Results that have been dribbled out by the election commission so far confirm that the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was being widely beaten in the polls.

By noon on Tuesday, of the 88 declared seats in the lower house the NLD had taken 78 with the USDP winning just 5.

Read the full report here:

Results round-up

With the announcement of 34 results in the Pyithu hluttaw (lower house of parliament), here is the latest tally:

  • National League for Democracy NLD 78 seats
  • Union Solidarity and Development Party USDP 5 seats
  • Shan Nationalities League for Democracy SNLD 2 seats
  • Wa Democratic party WDP 1 seat
  • Kachin State Democracy Party KSDP 1 seat
  • Zomi National Congress 1 seat

88 seats have so far been declared.

Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi count the official results of the elections from a newspaper outside NLD headquarters in Yangon.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi count the official results of the elections from a newspaper outside NLD headquarters in Yangon. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Further results released

The electoral commission has just released another tranche of results for the lower house.

Of 34 seats newly announced, the NLD has taken 29.

The ruling USDP took two.

Shan Nationalities League for Democracy took two.

Zomi national congress took one.

The NLD now has confirmed 78 seats in the national parliament.

Summary: EU observers' findings

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, chief observer for the EU election observation mission, has told reporters that Myanmar’s election was “credible” and “transparent” – but would not use the label “free and fair”.

Here are the key points from his findings:

  • Asked if the elections were free and fair, he said:

The country has come a long way but we do not use the simplistic label.

  • But he described the election process as “credible” and “transparent”.
  • Monitoring missions in every region of Myanmar concluded that 95% of ratings were good or very good. In a small number of polling stations – around 7% – some voters’ names were missing from the register.
  • In the first nationwide competitive elections in 25 years, the process went better than many had expected, but more reform is needed.
  • The credibility of an election rests on the acceptance of results by all sides, he said, adding that early signs were that the losing candidates were conceding their defeat.
  • But the election cannot be deemed “truly genuine” because 100% of seats were not up for election – one-quarter of seats were reserved for the military.
  • He stressed that the election is still ongoing, with vote-counting continuing. Observers will remain in Myanmar until December.
  • The current set up does not provide adequate redress for electoral complaints. Currently all complaints go to the Union Election Commission, which was appointed by the government and has been criticised for its lack of impartiality.
  • Lambsdorff said the disenfrachisement of Rohingya Muslims was a social issue more than an electoral one, reflecting a wider social problem that “the whole of Myanmar” needed to address.

While that press conference was ongoing, the BBC’s Fergal Keane has interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi, who appears to be buoyant about the unfolding results: 75% would be a majority for the NLD.

Will the results be accepted by all sides, Lambsdorff asks. He says the earliest comments from those who have lost their seats have been “encouraging”.

The credibility of an election rests on the acceptance of results by all sides, he says. That is what makes its results sustainable.

That’s the end of the EU observers’ press conference. I’ll post a summary shortly.

Exclusion of Rohingya an issue 'for the whole of Myanmar to address'

On Muslim voters, particularly the Rohingya, Lamsbdorff says the country needs to find ways to enfranchise them.

It is difficult to understand why they should not be able to stand for or vote in elections, he adds.

But he says this is more a social issue rather than an election one – the electoral issues reflect the social problems. It is for the whole of Myanmar to address, he says.

Updated

The election cannot be deemed “truly genuine” because 100% of seats were not up for election, says Lambsdorff. (One-quarter were reserved for the military.)

But … contrary to expectations, we did not have any problems accessing military installations on election day.

It was an orderly, transparent, professional process, he says.

EU observers: election rating '95% positive'

The overall rating for the entire voting process was 95% positive, the EU mission has concluded.

In a small number of polling stations – around 7% – some voters could not find their names on the register.

Fears about conduct before the election turned out to be much less in reality.

It is clearly not perfect, Lambsdorff says, but observers did not see anything that would render the election not credible.

Updated

Questioned on whether the election was “free and fair”, Lambsdorff says the EU mission does not use those terms.

There have been “certain limitations” in the elections here, he says.

The country has come a long way … but we don’t use the simplistic label here.

Does it make it 100% fair? There’s still room for improvement.

Portugal MEP Ana Gomes is speaking now. She reiterates concerns over the military’s control of 25% of parliamentary seats and the exclusion of certain ethnic groups from voting – a reference to the Rohingya Muslims.

You can read more about the disenfranchised Rohingya here:

Lambsdorff: We are happy to be part of this process and we congratulate the people of Myanmar.

Privately-owned media covered the election campaign in much more detail than state-owned media, Lambsdorff notes.

He goes on to say that observers will remain in Myanmar until 2 December to deal with any election-related complaints.

There were a “very, very low number” of Muslim candidates, as well as women, Lambsdorff adds.

This needs to be addressed, he says.

Updated

The legal and constitutional framework needs to be reformed before a genuinely free election can take place, he says.

At least one of the parliament chambers must have 100% of seats up for election, he says (in this election, the army has reserved 25% of the lower house for itself).

On the counting of results, Lambsdorff says the election is not over yet.

Until the final results are published, this election is still ongoing.

The EU observers remain in place.

Out-of-constituency advance voting “was not transparent … it was more like a black box”, he says. Observers will continue to monitor this.

He says this part of the process should be changed in the future.

In most cases, observers were welcomed by election officials, “helping to create more transparency in the process”, Lambsdorff says.

He says there could be more transparency at a national level; at a regional level it was better.

“The issue of the voter register was front and centre,” Lambsdorff says.

His observers found most voters were on the list.

In 7% of polling stations, some voters were not on the list. (This does not mean 7% of voters, he stresses.)

Lambsdorff says the vast majority of polling stations opened on time, with staff and voting papers there – this is very good, he says.

Election administration performed a “very good job”, he says.

Alexander Lambsdorff, chief observer of the European Union election observation mission, which has 150 observers in Myanmar to monitor the conduct of the election, is about to speak to reporters in Yangon.

Lambsdorff says the elections were “remarkable” and carried out peacefully. But he says further reforms are needed to be truly democratic.

Myanmar’s newspapers feature the unusual sight of Suu Kyi and the NLD splashed across their front pages today. As Associated Press reports:

Many people in the streets of Yangon were sitting on sidewalks, in rickshaws or on front porches reading morning newspapers splashed with Aung San Suu Kyi’s picture, as the nation awaited final confirmation of her election victory.

The front pages were another reflection of the massive changes in this long-repressed country: during the junta’s rule, photos of Suu Kyi were banned from media.

Tuesday’s headline in the Daily Eleven Newspaper read: “NLD is winning as the people are willing to change this country.”

The European Union election observation mission has had 150 observers in Myanmar to monitor polling day. It’s about to present its report in Yangon on how the election was run.

My colleague Oliver Holmes will be there and I’ll have updates on the live blog from the press conference, which is due to begin at 11am local time (3.30pm AEDT/4.30am GMT).

Updated

NLD supporters celebrated late into the night on Monday in anticipation of their party’s expected victory.

Although the results are still slow to arrive, indications certainly point to overwhelming success for Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party.

The NLD did, of course, win the 1990 election by a landslide, but the result was ignored by the ruling military. This time it has indicated it will accept what looks almost certain to be a defiant rejection of its rule.

Late on 9 November, supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy gather outside NLD headquarters in Yangon.
Late on 9 November, supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy gather outside NLD headquarters in Yangon. Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images

National parliament latest results

Fifty-four out of 323 seats in the national parliament have so far been declared:

  • National League for Democracy (NLD) 49
  • Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) 3
  • Wa Democratic party (WDP) 1
  • Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP) 1

(With thanks to Richard Horsey, Myanmar adviser at the International Crisis Group, who is keeping a close eye on the tally; he is tweeting @rshorsey.)

Reuters reports that the election result could see an easing of US sanctions against Myanmar – as long as the military accepts the results:

Washington said it would watch for the democratic process to move forward before lifting more sanctions, which still target more than 100 individuals and businesses and limit US investment in Myanmar.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the election process was encouraging and “represents an important step in Burma’s democratic process”.

“What is clear is that for the first time ever, millions of people in Burma voted in a meaningful, competitive election,” he said.

He said there were still flaws in the political system – including a constitutional provision barring Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president – and it was too soon to discuss US policy changes.

The top US diplomat for Asia said preliminary indications were that the elections went “quite smoothly”, but a “credible” transition was now needed.

Daniel Russel, US assistant secretary of state for east Asia, said that after 50 years of military dictatorship, “this was a hell of a step forward for the democratic process”, but added: “Now comes the hard part.”

Russel said it was too early to evaluate the overall conduct of the voting, or say whether it could lead to a lifting of remaining US sanctions.

“The further the process of reform moves, the more credible and respectable the political process is, the greater the support and the lower the hurdles for the US government, and I suspect other governments, to actively support a new Burmese government, including through adjustments to our policies.”

The US officials said Myanmar’s president and military leadership had publicly reaffirmed that they would accept the election results.

“The United States, and I believe other members of the international community, have every intention of holding them to that,” Russel said.

Some clarification on this morning’s fresh results.

Earlier reports suggested the new announcements related to the national parliament – in fact, they were results from state and regional legislatures.

All still recorded resounding wins for the NLD.

My colleague Oliver Holmes sends this dispatch from Yangon on the reaction to jubilation among NLD supporters:

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper ran an opinion article on Tuesday warning: “Every stakeholder in Myanmar politics to make wise decisions during this important juncture in the country’s history.”

It went on: “Veering away from what we know to be the best course of action for the people could see the country descend into confusion and chaos.”

Many are concerned that the months after the election could be chaotic, especially if the NLD tries to assert its dominance or if the military feels its influence is overly threatened.

“The problems that have plagued Myanmar’s political system have stemmed from the exclusion of the wishes of a significant number of stakeholders. It is therefore important for some stakeholders to retreat and for some to take a few steps forward,” the opinion article said, without specifying if it was referring to the NLD or the military.

The months after the election are going to see intense political manoeuvring by Aung San Suu Kyi and the army-aligned politicians, as a government is formed and nominations for the next president are decided.

Under the military-drafted constitution, members of parliament choose two presidential candidates and the army appoints a third. After that, parliament votes.

This will not happen until early 2016 and Suu Kyi’s comment that she intends to be “above the president” has antagonised Myanmar’s military leaders.

The opinion article warned: “Decision-makers must accommodate the wishes of all stakeholders. This is important for peace as well as for national reconciliation. National reconciliation can only be achieved if it is completely inclusive.”

Updated

The next official update on vote-counting is at noon local time (4.30pm AEDT/5.30am GMT) but it’s likely that we will get a sense – albeit unofficial – of how far the NLD could progress via its own tallies.

[Edit: this post was amended to remove a BBC journalist’s tweet that has been deleted.]

Updated

More results announced

The official electoral commission has announced the next batch of results.

With 121 seats declared so far, the NLD has won 111.

A reminder that, even if the NLD secures victory, Myanmar’s constitution bars Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president.

A constitutional provision introduced by the military junta excludes from the role all those with foreign children – Suu Kyi’s late husband was British and she has two British sons.

But Suu Kyi has insisted that she will lead the country from a role “above the president” if the NLD wins the election:

The constitution will have to change to allow civilian authorities to have the necessary democratic authority over the armed forces.

She has also vowed to amend what she called the “very silly” constitutional provision, again implemented by the military, which reserves 25% of the seats in parliament and the most powerful ministerial portfolios for itself.

Updated

My colleague Oliver Holmes is in Yangon and notes the “surreal” sight of state media leading on expected success for Suu Kyi and her opposition party:

Victory for Aung San Suu Kyi could cause “discomfort” in China, reports the Guardian’s Beijing correspondent, Tom Phillips:

Suu Kyi – a highly sensitive figure in China given her long and successful struggle against Myanmar’s authoritarian rulers – is unlikely to make many Chinese front pages in the wake of her electoral triumph.

But there are already signs of China’s discomfort at the prospect of her party’s win heralding an era of much closer ties between Myanmar and the west – and the United States in particular.

An editorial in the Global Times, a Beijing-run tabloid, today warns that for Myanmar, tilting away from China and towards the west would be “a witless move [that] would ruin the strategic space and resources it can obtain from China’s amicable policies”.

The Global Times claims that Beijing, which for years was one of the junta’s few international friends, “won’t deem it unusual that Myanmar develops its ties with the US”.

It goes on: “Maintaining friendly and cooperative ties with China will be a rational choice for all its neighbouring countries. China should have full confidence in this respect and not be hoodwinked by western opinion.”

The editorial echoes comments from China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Hong Lei, on Monday.

“As a friendly neighbour of Myanmar, China supports Myanmar in all political agendas after the election in accordance with law so as to realise national stability and long-term development,” he said.

Chinese president Xi Jinping, right, with Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, in Beijing in 2013.
Chinese president Xi Jinping, right, with Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, in Beijing in 2013. Photograph: Ma Zhancheng/Xinhua Press/Corbis

Latest results

Only a small proportion of the country’s 498 seats, across the lower and upper house, have so far been declared.

By 11pm local time, 54 seats had been declared, with NLD taking 48 of those.

But the NLD is confident of big wins across at least four states, and says it expects to have won 97% of the first 119 seats that have been counted.

NLD claims it has won:

  • Yangon: 44 of the 45 lower house and all 12 upper house seats.
  • Ayeyarwaddy: All 26 lower house seats and all 12 upper house seats.
  • Bago: 27 of the 28 lower house seats and all 12 upper house seats.
  • Mon: 11 of the 19 lower house seats and all 10 of the seats in the upper house.

Official confirmation is rolling out slowly, with the electoral commission set to start the release of more results in around 40 minutes’ time.

Opening summary

Welcome to continuing live coverage as results roll in from Myanmar’s general election.

Myanmar’s official electoral commission has so far declared only a handful of results.

By 10pm local time on Monday (15.30 GMT/Tuesday 02.30 AEDT), the commission said Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) had won 25 seats and the ruling party two, all of them in the lower house.

There are 498 seats in upper and lower houses of Myanmar to be announced in a series of rounds.

This means there are hundreds more results still to be declared, with counting due to resume today at 9am local time (02.30GMT/13.30 AEDT).

But NLD supporters are already celebrating what they believe will be a landslide victory, claiming late on Monday to have made a near clean sweep of the lower house in four of the 14 states in which results have been counted (though not yet officially declared).

Celebrations as the National League for Democracy claims more seats.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) – the current ruling party, backed by the military – appeared to concede it was on course to lose control, with acting chairman Htay Oo, who was voted out of his own seat, admitting:

We have a higher percentage of losses than wins … The results are not yet official but we accept any outcome.

Suu Kyi said it was “still a bit early” for congratulations, but told jubilant supporters:

I think you all have the idea.

This live blog will carry all the latest updates throughout the day as results come in.

My colleague Oliver Holmes is in Yangon and will be filing updates to this live blog and on Twitter @olireports.

I will also post key developments @Claire_Phipps. And please do post comments and questions below the line.

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