Myanmar's ruling party accepted defeat in the country's general election on Monday as the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi appeared on the way of a landslide victory.

The election commission has not yet declared any results from Sunday's poll, but Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy (NLD) said that partial counts showed it had secured more than 80% of votes cast in the densely populated central regions.

It was not yet known whether the NLD would secure the two-thirds of seats in parliament it needs to form the first democratically elected Myanmar government since the early 1960s. But, a commanding lead in the popular vote makes it probable.

Whatever the result, Myanmar is drifting into a period of uncertainty over how Suu Kyi and other ascendant parties discuss sharing power with the still-dominant military.

Incomplete vote counts showed some of the most powerful politicians of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) losing in their bids for parliamentary seats, signaling a heavy loss for the party formed by the former junta and led by retired military officers.