After decades of defiance, Myanmar's indomitable democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi now stands on the cusp of government, an international symbol of resistance in the face of brutal authoritarianism.

Long isolated by the military regime -- including 16 years under house arrest in her crumbling lakeside mansion -- "The Lady" has led her National League for Democracy to a crushing win in Myanmar's fairest-ever polls.

China on Thursday avoided congratulating Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi for her party's landslide election victory which has the potential to strain ties with Beijing.

Beijing has for decades been close to neighboring Myanmar's authoritarian military leaders, who voters overwhelmingly rejected in historic polls.

Aung San Suu Kyi's party secured a landslide election victory in Myanmar on Friday, propelling the pro-democracy movement to power after a 25-year struggle against authoritarian rule.

It promises a new dawn for a country asphyxiated by half a century of army rule that battered the economy and repressed its people.

Myanmar's military establishment pledged Thursday to ensure a smooth transition of power as Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party stood on the verge of a crushing election win.

The country has been dominated by the military for half a century through direct junta rule and -- since 2011 -- by a quasi-civilian government run by its allies.

Myanmar's military-backed government vowed Wednesday to respect the country's election result despite staring at a poll wipeout, as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for talks with the president and the powerful army chief.

Government beckons for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party after it took nearly 90 percent of the seats declared so far.

The leader of Cambodia's main opposition on Tuesday called for a peaceful transfer of power in elections in 2018, encouraged by a historic vote in nearby Myanmar.

Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), also called for major donor Japan and the rest of the international community to pressure strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen to move towards a peaceful exit from office.

A Chinese newspaper linked to the ruling Communist Party warned Myanmar Tuesday not to leave its embrace for the U.S., as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party was slated to wrest power from the military-backed government.

Beijing was Yangon's closest ally during the later years of military rule, providing a shield from international opprobrium and a lifeline as a trading partner for the junta.

Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party on Monday cheered early results from Myanmar's historic election, with hopes boosted of sweeping gains to carry it to power after decades of military dominance.

Election authorities have so far announced only a small fraction of the results, but the National League for Democracy has scooped the lion's share of those, boosting enthusiasm in the crowds in front of Suu Kyi's party headquarters in Yangon Monday evening. 

The last time Myanmar held a nationwide election, Aung San Suu Kyi languished under house arrest while her party's landslide win was simply ignored by the country's brutal military rulers.

Twenty-five years on, the democracy champion cast her ballot Sunday morning at a Yangon polling station -- the culmination of an exhausting few weeks of campaigning that has drawn large, jubilant crowds hoping this will be Myanmar's fairest vote in decades.

Vote counting in Myanmar's landmark election was well underway Monday following a massive turnout that could see Aung San Suu Kyi's party catapulted to power and the end of decades of military control.

Millions had queued the previous day to cast their ballots for the first time in a quarter of a century, in an event heavy with history and filled with emotion.