Burma's National League for Democracy, led by democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, has won an absolute majority in the country's parliament, the election commission has said.
Suu Kyi, who is banned by law from the country's presidency, has said she would take a position "above" the president should her party win a majority.
The people of Burma have begun to celebrate as the results in the country's freest elections for 25 years started to come in.
Initial votes show Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party is set for a landslide victory.
But even if she wins, she is constitutionally barred from becoming president.
This is because anyone whose spouse or sons are overseas citizens cannot lead the country. Suu Kyi's late husband and her two sons are British.
Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party is on course for a landslide victory in Burma's most democratic election for decades.
The party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to prove popular, but may still face an uphill struggle in parliament.
Aung San Suu Kyi always chooses words carefully and as she uttered one sentence it emphatically sounded like a gauntlet being thrown down.