Myanmar elections: President Thein Sein will congratulate Aung San Suu Kyi on victory

Myanmar's President Thein Sein is expected to congratulate the pro-democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi on her party's stunning election victory. As preliminary results continue to emerge, the Nobel Peace Laureate's party, National League of Democracy has laid claim to nearly 90% of the parliamentary seats.

The National Election Commission has officially said the pro-democracy party won 163 of the 82 seats, for which the results have been announced. Suu Kyi has also expressed confidence that the NLD would secure a landslide victory in sealing a majority in Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Myanmar's parliament.

Local reports suggest the junta ruler Sein will wish Suu Kyi on the landmark win and avoid global embarrassment. A source close to Sein's party, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), told Burmese daily The Irrawaddy: "He 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."

A similar victory by opposition political parties in 1990 was later cancelled by the military-installed government. However, it is unlikely to be repeated this time given the political climate surrounding Myanmar and the military's loosening grip on the administration.

More than 90 political parties were pitched against in the election battle, nonetheless, in realistic terms, it was a sharp contest between NLD and USDP. Meanwhile, Suu Kyi was declared as the winner in the Kawmhu, Yangon constituency where she contested. Although the military-aligned USDP conceded defeat in the historic election, the scale of NLD's victory is yet to emerge fully.

"The really big surprise in these results wasn't the drubbing that the USDP got, or the NLD landslide, it was the massive defeat suffered by most ethnic minority parties," Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst, told the Guardian.

"For a country still emerging from six decades of civil war, it is a big concern if the parliament fails to reflect the diversity of the country."

To gain majority, the NLD potentially needed to win at least 67% or 329 seats across both the houses of the parliament, since quarter of the seats have also been reserved for the military representatives. International observers have said the democratic process has been free and fair barring minor skirmishes.

Deputy chairman of the NLD Rangoon election campaign team, Soe Win Oo said: "Based on the results we have, we can elect two vice-presidents. We will cooperate with the military and ethnic parties. If the NLD wins the presidential position, we can form a government. It is not NLD's victory alone. It is the people's victory."