Burmese government says it was surprised by scale of Suu Kyi victory "I think the Obama government, they are starting to believe that we are really changing, but we need to convince the other guys in Congress," said the adviser, Ko Ko Hlaing, in an interview at a government office in Rangoon. Washington has hinted at plans to soften or even remove investment, trade and financial sanctions against the Burmese government should it show progress toward meaningful democratic reform. Sunday's poll, the first involving Suu Kyi after 22 years, was closely scrutinized by U.S. officials. "This election is an important step in Burma's democratic transformation, and we hope it is an indication that the Government of Burma intends to continue along the path of greater openness, transparency, and reform," the White House said in a statement. Striking a conciliatory tone on Monday, Suu Kyi told a small crowd of supporters outside her National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon that Sunday's election had been a triumph, not only for her party but for ordinary voters. "We hope that this will be the beginning of a new era, when there will be more emphasis on the role of the people in the everyday politics in our country," she said. Official election results have yet to be announced by Burma's election commission. But there is no sign that the government plans to annul Suu Kyi's win, as it did after her emphatic general election victory in 1990. Suu Kyi spent 15 of the next 21 years under house arrest. Although Sunday's result hardly dents the government-backed party's huge majority in the Burmese parliament, it means that Suu Kyi will face off against military-backed officials for the first time within the country's new and evolving political establishment. As such, Burma is entering unfamiliar territory, both for Suu Kyi and for a nominally civilian government that remains dominated by the military. The president's adviser, Ko Ko Hlaing, acknowledged that the government is not used to contesting elections. "I could guess that the NLD would take the lion's share in these elections, but I didn't expect this much of a landslide victory for them," he said. The people are quite excited about this electoral process and they would like to show their mind and hope for change. Speaking about the president's relationship with Suu Kyi, he said that although the two had only met in person once, the leaders representing opposite sides of Burma's rapidly diminishing political divide had built a strong understanding based on actions rather than words. Representatives of the two sides were in regular contact, he added. "I think Suu Kyi is using a more conciliatory way to cooperate with the government," he said. At the same time, she has the right to move freely in her party political activities, so I think that the government understands her moves and is quite confident they will be within the law. The president's chief adviser said the government remained intolerant of "demanding revolutions to topple the government," which he likened to the Arab Spring. Suu Kyi came to prominence in Burma when, as the daughter of the country's independence hero Aung San, she became the leader of anti-government demonstrations that swept Rangoon in 1988. Since then Burmese activists have intermittently taken to the streets of the country's largest city, often when Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest, including in 2007 when demonstrations by monks were brutally suppressed. Ko Ko Hlaing said that the country will continue to reform as it moves toward general elections at the end of 2015. Sunday's election "is the preliminary test for democratic transition, and the general elections in 2015 will be the final exam," he said.