Myanmar President Thein Sein has congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party on its success in polls, his spokesman told the BBC.

With about 47% of seats declared, the National League for Democracy (NLD) has taken over 90% of the vote.

Ms Suu Kyi has written to the leadership requesting talks on national reconciliation.

But spokesman U Ye Htut said such a meeting could only take place after the final results were announced.

He insisted there was no attempt to delay the declaration of results from Sunday's election.

Correspondents say Ms Suu Kyi is treading carefully despite her apparent landslide victory. The NLD won elections decisively in 1990 - only for the result to be nullified and Ms Suu Kyi placed under long-term house arrest.

The ruling military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) - which won the last, widely criticised election five years ago - has so far gained only 5% of the seats being contested in Myanmar, known as Burma.

A quarter of seats are reserved for the military.

"Our message to the people of the country on behalf of U Thein Sein is that President U Thein Sein wants to congratulate the Myanmar people for the free and fair and very peaceful election day," U Ye Htut told the BBC.

"And second he also wants to congratulate the NLD for their success in the election."

"Our government will respect the people's decision and choice and will hand over power as scheduled," President Thein Sein also pledged in a post on his Facebook page.

The result so far is a humiliation for the governing party, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Yangon, also known as Rangoon.

It is likely to leave the NLD in a commanding position in the next parliament, opposed only by the military faction, he says.

Ms Suu Kyi earlier retained her own seat and will return as MP for her Kawhmu constituency in Rangoon. Although she leads the NLD she is barred by the constitution from being president.

But she has said that will not stop her "from making all the decisions".

In her letters sent Tuesday to the president, the commander of the armed forces and the parliamentary speaker she requested a meeting next week to discuss "a peaceful implementation of the people's desire, which they expressed via the 8 November election".

Source: BBC