Suu Kyi Party In Landslide Myanmar Win

Aung San Suu Kyi addresses foreign and local journalists during a press conference held at her residence in Yangon on March 30.

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has hailed a "new era" for Myanmar following an apparent landslide win for her party in the Southeast Asian country's first elections held after decades of rule by a military junta.

Her party said Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was imprisoned by the junta for most of the past 22 years, had won a parliament seat in the April 1 vote.

The National League for Democracy Party says it won 44 of the 45 legislative seats that were contested.

"We hope that this will be the beginning of a new era where there will be more emphasis on the role of the people in the everyday politics of the country," Suu Kyi said. "We also hope that we will be able to go further along the road toward national reconciliation."

The by-election was the first since Myanmar's military-backed civilian government assumed power one year ago after decades of rule by the military regime.

The National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in 1990, but was blocked by the military from taking office.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP