Suu Kyi loyalist and friend elected Myanmar's president

Myanmar's parliament elected Htin Kyaw as the country's new president Tuesday in a watershed moment that ushers the longtime opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi into government after 54 years of direct or indirect military rule.

The joint session of the two houses of parliament broke into thundering applause as the speaker Mann Win Khaing Than announced the result: "I hereby announce the president of Myanmar is Htin Kyaw, as he won the majority of votes." Immediately, the state-run Myanmar TV's camera zoomed in from above on a beaming Suu Kyi, sitting in the front row, clapping excitedly, for a live nationwide audience.

Real challenge for Myanmar opposition head comes after polls

Winning Myanmar's election turned out to be easier than expected for Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, but steering the country will be a test of how the Nobel Peace laureate balances her moral vision with political realities.

Almost complete returns released by the Election Commission by Sunday showed Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy with a whopping majority that gives it control of the lower and upper houses of Parliament, along with enough votes to dictate who will be president when the new lawmakers convene their first session next year.

5 things to know about Myanmar

Myanmar is holding a general election on Sunday, its second since polls in 2010 ended almost a half-century of military rule. Five things to know about the Southeast Asian country:

REFORMS

President Thein Sein's government makes the case that it is prudently managing a successful transition to democracy. Shortly after coming to power in 2011, Thein Sein — a former general and prime minister in the previous military government — instituted economic and political reforms that resulted in Western nations largely lifting trade and investment embargoes they had maintained against the previous military government. This spurred foreign investment and much-needed economic growth.