Myanmar ruling party battered by Suu Kyi in polls

A senior member of Myanmar's ruling party said Tuesday they had "lost completely" to Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition, as a major election win for the democracy icon appeared within touching distance.

The drip feed of early poll results pointed to a big win for the National League for Democracy which has bagged 49 of the first 54 lower house seats announced so far.

The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was braced for a rout after taking just three of the declared seats.

"Our USDP lost completely. The NLD has won," senior party member Kyi Win told AFP from party headquarters in the capital Naypyidaw.

"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."

Kyi Win, a retired army officer who sits at the heart of party operations in the capital, said the NLD was poised to win a coveted majority in a parliament.

The NLD needs 67 percent of contested seats for that majority.

Anything higher would be a boon to its political clout in a legislature where 25 percent of seats are ring fenced for the army.

But official victory appeared some way off for the NLD, with the Union Election Commission releasing results at just a trickle throughout Tuesday.

NLD voters believe an election win will reset the country under Suu Kyi's guidance, in a major stride away from army control.

They remained confident of a major win, but cautious of kickback from the powerful army.

"I think the results will come soon, but I'm worried," said Ma Pyone, a vegetable seller in downtown Yangon.

"I don't know if the current government will seize power (if they lose) or not, but I hope they won't."

The NLD recorded a landslide in the last elections it contested in 1990 only for the army to ignore the result and double down on its repressive rule.

Buoyant red-clad supporters of Suu Kyi's NLD sang and danced for a second night on Monday outside the party base in Yangon, cheering each confirmed win as expectations of a landslide mounted.

But on Tuesday morning the big screen and loudspeakers, which 24 hours earlier carried an impromptu address by Suu Kyi, were suddenly removed.

Washington welcomed the "peaceful and historic" election but nonetheless urged caution until official results were announced.