Suu Kyi's day of destiny arrives as Myanmar votes

Myanmar voters cast their ballots Sunday in a historic election that could thrust Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party into power and finally pull the country away from the grip of the military.

In a reminder of Suu Kyi's star power, the opposition leader, wearing a traditional skirt with her trademark string of flowers in her hair, was mobbed by scores of reporters as she voted in Yangon.

Supporters crushed into the school yard acting as a polling station, shouting "Victory! Victory!" as the diminutive democracy heroine edged through the crowd.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party believes a fair vote will power it into government after a decades-long struggle against army dictatorship.

But the Nobel Laureate is barred from the presidency by the army-scripted constitution and the NLD faces an uphill struggle as a quarter of seats are still reserved for the military.

In the capital Naypyidaw, President Thein Sein, a one-time top-ranking junta general, smiled for the cameras and held up his little finger, stained with purple ink, after voting.

His ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), an army-backed behemoth stacked with former military cadres, is the main obstacle to an NLD victory.

Many voters remain nervous about how the powerful army will react if it loses with concerns over fraud which riddled previous elections.

But after casting his vote in the capital, Myanmar's powerful army chief said his troops would respect the voice of the electorate. 

"Just as the winner accepts the result, so should the loser," he told reporters.