The US has welcomed Myanmar's historic election but warned of "important structural and systemic impediments" to complete democratisation in the South-east Asia nation after decades of military rule.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the massive turnout, which might see Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) catapult to power, was a "testament to the courage and sacrifice shown by the people of Burma over many decades," The Straits Times reported.
Suu Kyi's NLD believes a fair vote will power it into government after a decade-long struggle against army dictatorship.
But the Nobel Laureate is barred from the presidency by the army-scripted constitution and the NLD faces an uphill struggle because a quarter of seats are still reserved for the military.