Suu Kyi 'will be above president'

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said she would be "above the president" if her National League for Democracy wins Sunday's election.

The NLD is widely expected to do well in the election, but Suu Kyi is banned from taking the role of president by the constitution.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Yangon says her comment was her strongest assertion yet that she intends to govern anyway.

The elections will be Myanmar's first openly contested polls in 25 years.

More than 90 parties are standing in the first national elections since a nominally civilian government took power in 2011.

Suu Kyi told the news conference in Yangon, her last before polls open: "I will be above the president. It's a very simple message."

She said there was nothing in the constitution which prevented this.

She criticised the electoral process so far, saying it had been less than totally free and fair and that the electoral commission had failed to deal with irregularities.

She also briefly touched on the Rohingya, the persecuted mostly Muslim minority who Myanmar says are not citizens and who do not have a vote.

Suu Kyi has been criticised for not speaking out on the issue, but in her news conference, she said the situation should not be exaggerated.

The constitution of Myanmar, also known as Burma, grants the military at least 25% of parliamentary seats.

The NLD and any allies will need to win at least two-thirds of the remaining seats in order to choose the next president.

A clause in the constitution means Suu Kyi cannot be president as her sons hold British passports.