Burma elections: Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party wins landslide victory

In a shift from military rule, Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition has won a historic majority in the parliamentary polls which allow it to elect a president and form a government in Myanmar. The NLD picked up an additional 24 seats in the lower house, to gain a majority in the chamber. Suu Kyi was under house arrest at the time and had to accept the Nobel Peace Prize the following year in absentia.

The new parliament will meet in January and select a president in March.

But the military installed retired senior officers in the ruling party to fill Cabinet posts and gave itself key powers in the constitution, including control of several powerful ministries and a quarter of the seats in both houses of parliament.

The constitution also prevents NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming the country's president due to her family status which involves foreign citizenship.

Tu Ja, a Catholic politician and chairman of the Kachin State Democracy Party, said that all the people of Myanmar wanted change, leading to Suu Kyi's landslide victory. That jump helped annual economic growth average more than 7 percent since that year.

Discussions of policy played little part in the election - it was all about Suu Kyi, and like Poland's Lech Walesa and South Africa's Nelson Mandela before her, the public face of the rebellion will now be tested as leader of the nation.

On Thursday, the country's powerful military rulers - who have dominated Myanmar's politics for decades - congratulated Suu Kyi on her electoral win and pledged a peaceful transfer of power. Twenty five percent of all parliamentary seats are awarded to unelected military officials meaning the NLD will need to co-operate with its former antagonist.

He also called Thein Sein to praise Myanmar's government "for their work with political parties, civil society, and the media to overcome the significant challenges in organizing and conducting the election".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi for her election win, but also hailed the "courage and vision" of Thein Sein for "leadership in the reform process".

In Myanmar, the National League for Democracy has won a majority in historic general election, ending decades of military-backed rule.

Long a political favourite of Western leaders, Suu Kyi has received telephone calls of congratulations from the UK's David Cameron, Barack Obama of the USA, and French President Francois Hollande, the NLD said. More than 32 million people were registered to vote.

Thein Sein, whose semi-civilian government took power when the junta stepped aside in 2011, and powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing, have said they would respect the result and hold reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi soon.

Rohingya Muslim minority children in a refugee camp outside Sitttwe, in Rakhine state.