Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party has won a huge majority in Myanmar's parliament, election officials said.
Suu Kyi's party has won 378 seats (19 more than magic figure of 329) in the country's national parliament- 247 seats in lower house and 131 in the upper house, officials from the Union Election Commission said Friday, according to Radio Free Asia.
The military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) managed to secure just 40 seats in legislature, reported The Guardian. Formal announcements of poll results have yet to be made.
"The people of Myanmar have been dutiful and it is time for the NLD to try to fulfil the wishes of the people. The NLD has a responsibility to try hard for change," party leader Tin Oo said, according to Business Standard.
Suu Kyi, who is barred from the presidency by a provision in the army-drafted Constitution, said last week that she would be "above the president" if her party wins the election, as HNGN previously reported.
U.S. President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi on Thursday to congratulate her on the NLD's historic election victory.
"This is in many ways it a momentous opportunity for the people of Burma. We had been very focused on this election. It is a critical milestone in evaluating Burma's democratic transition," the White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said in a press briefing Thursday, according to Reuters. He added that the U.S. president would meet Myanmar President Thein Sein during his upcoming Asia visit.
Nearly 80 percent of more than 30 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Myanmar's landmark parliamentary election on Sunday, Nov. 8.
