Myanmar's powerful army chief has congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party for winning a majority in the country's historic general election, in a statement released late Wednesday on the military's official Facebook page.

In the first official comments from the head of the military after Sunday's election, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said: "we congratulate the NLD (National League for Democracy) for winning a majority of seats," adding he will meet Suu Kyi after the official results are declared by election authorities.