Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) Results from Myanmar's landmark vote are expected to be announced early this week, as the party of veteran democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi seeks a bigger role in the political process.

Millions of Burmese took to the polls Sunday in an election billed as the country's freest vote in a quarter-century.

Victory for Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, would weaken the power of the military-linked party, which is led by President Thien Sein, a former general.

In Yangon, the country's largest city, people lined up at polling stations before sunrise.

The long wait was a cause for concern for Aung Kyaw San, an election observer for the National Youth Congress, a civil society group.

"It isn't right for someone to have to wait more than one hour in line to vote," he said.

Hlaing Myint, a sales manager, waited for five hours, but said it was worth it.

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"This is the only way to change things," he said. He said the new government's focus should be on improving education, health care and economic growth.

"And we need law and order," he added.

Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Suu Kyi also cast her vote Sunday.

Just before the polls closed, voters dashed in under pouring rain to cast last-minute ballots as election officials used a megaphone to announce time was running out.

At a monastery that served as a polling station, voters, journalists and election workers were barefoot as part of Buddhist tradition. As soon as polls closed at 4 p.m. local time, a padlock clicked shut at the gate.

Cautious optimism

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Zaw Win, a retired supervisor of engineers, lined up at daybreak for his chance to vote. Now 67, he was a high school student when he experienced his first military coup. He tells CNN he's been through "so many kinds of government."

But he is optimistic that this time, his vote will matter.

"Now I vote for the party and for the person I like, he said. "So I am quite happy."

As he showed off his ink-stained finger -- a mark election organizers are using to prevent people from voting more than once -- he said the process was reassuringly straightforward.

"Before, I was worried about the election. But it was very easy."

Many people appeared to be coming to vote as families.

Su Hnin Kyu, 20, came to vote with her parents and two older brothers, and the family reveled in the holiday-like atmosphere. Her brother, Thet Naing, 23, said he was voting for the first time.

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The family enthusiastically supported Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thet Naing said he would be happy if Suu Kyi's NLD wins the election, but also expressed concern about the possibility of rigging.

"If it's not clean we will be sad," he said.

Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar A woman casts her vote in a polling station in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Sunday, November 8. Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar A woman's finger is dipped in ink after casting her ballot in Dala, a village outside of Yangon, Myanmar, on November 8. Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar People rally outside the National League for Democracy office after Myanmar's first free and fair election in 25 years on November 8 in Yangon. Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar Votes are counted in a polling station in Yangon on November 8. Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar A vendor reads a local weekly journal showing a portrait of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Thein Sein and others. Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar Pro-democracy supporters are optimistic that the election could be the beginning of real change in the country, which has been isolated for decades because of its repressive military-dominated government. Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar Tin Aye, chairman of Myanmar's Union Election Commission, inspects a polling station in Naypyidaw on November 7. Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar Thu Ryain Shwe, 26, of the National Unity Party, one of the youngest candidates in the parliamentary election, wears his candidate ID in Zigon. Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar A devotee prays at a chanting ceremony in Mandalay, Myanmar, on November 7 to bless citizens and to pray for a fair and peaceful election. Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos: Landmark elections in Myanmar A supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party holds a party flag in Mandalay on November 5. Hide Caption 10 of 10

Still skeptical

Blogger, anti-hate speech campaigner and NLD candidate Nay Phone Latt, however, was maintaining a degree of skepticism. He told CNN that the party had monitored some irregularities, and had noted minor incidents of violence and attempted voter fraud.

He added that it is the rural areas where the opportunities for foul play would be most evident.

"I am not so worried for the downtown area (of Yangon)," he said.

"But I'm not so sure for the remote area. All of the media and all of the observers everybody should focus on some of the place in the remote area."

Sense of belief

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Pro-democracy supporters are optimistic the election could be the beginning of real change in the country, which has been isolated for decades due to its repressive military-dominated government.

While the administration of current President Thein Sein has relaxed restrictions, pushing through expansive political and economic reforms and bringing the country out of decades of authoritarian rule and international isolation, watchers say that the elections are still far from free and fair.

Not least is the bloc of seats in the Hluttaw, Myanmar's parliament, which is earmarked for the military. A full quarter of seats are guaranteed for unelected military representatives. These members also have an effective veto over any proposed constitutional change.

Within U.S. government circles, there was some skepticism toward the vote.

"This is not going to be a high-quality election," a senior U.S. government official told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The process is going to be fraught ... it is slanted toward the ruling elite."

Military mood subdued

The mood was less festive at a military hospital in Yangon that serves as a polling station for around 1,200 military doctors, nurses and relatives of hospital staff.

A plainclothes man identifying himself as an officer in the special branch security intelligence arm of the police accompanied CNN during its tour of the polling station.

When CNN approached voters to ask about the election, the unnamed officer shook his head at them. The voters then declined to be interviewed.

An official from the Union Election Commission, the body that oversees the vote, insisted that this election was much better than parliamentary elections in 2010, which were boycotted by the National League for Democracy.

"There are more people this time compared to 2010," said Daw Thein Thein Tun, the election official at the facility.

"There is more regulation, and this time there is more openness and transparency," she added. "You see the voting is free and fair."

Barred from presidency

Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner, arrives at the polling station to cast vote during Myanmar's freest election in decades on November 8, 2015. Known worldwide for her leadership and commitment to human rights in Myanmar, she was kept under house arrest for years by the Asian country's military rulers. Take a look back at her triumphs and struggles: Hide Caption 1 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi, center, receives the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2015. She is flanked by (from left) House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, stand with her. Hide Caption 2 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – A large cutout of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Suu Kyi is on display on Wednesday. Hide Caption 3 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, September 18, in Clinton's office at the State Department in Washington. It was her first visit to the U.S. in 20 years. Hide Caption 4 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi greets her supporters as she visits a recently flooded area in Pathein township, the capital city of the Irrawaddy division, on September 1, 2015. Heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar forced tens of thousands of people to seek shelter in emergency camps. Hide Caption 5 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi speaks during a regular session at the lower house of parliament in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on July 25, 2015. Suu Kyi called for laws to protect the rights of the nation's myriad ethnic minorities in her inaugural address to the fledgling parliament. Hide Caption 6 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi sits in the lower house parliament session in Naypyidaw on July 10, 2015. Hide Caption 7 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi prays in honor of her late father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, during a ceremony to mark the country's 65th anniversary of Martyrs' Day at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon, Myanmar, on July 19, 2015. The memorial is a tribute to Aung San and several other independence leaders who were killed on July 19, 1947. Hide Caption 8 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi stands to address both houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, London, on June 21, 2015 as Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, right, and Speaker of the House of Lords Baroness D'Souza stand beside her. Suu Kyi made a historic address to both houses of the British Parliament, making her only the fifth foreign dignitary since World War II to be accorded the rare honor. Hide Caption 9 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi speaks during a Nobel lecture at Oslo City Hall on June 16, 2015 in Oslo, Norway. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1991 but had not been able to receive it until now because she was kept under house arrest for most of the past 24 years. Hide Caption 10 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi visits the Mae La refugee camp on June 2, 2015 in the western province of Tak, Thailand. The camp, situated along the Myanmar-Thailand border, is home to around 45,000 Karen people, an ethnic minority in Myanmar. Hide Caption 11 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi leaves the Suvarnabhumi International airport on her first international trip in 24 years outside Myanmar on May 29, 2015in Bangkok, Thailand. Hide Caption 12 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi waves to Burmese workers on a trip to a migrant community outside of Bangkok on May 30, 2015 in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. Suu Kyi pledged to help improve the rights of Burmese nationals living in Thailand. Hide Caption 13 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi speaks at the National League for Democracy party headquarters after after a landslide victory for a seat in the parliament on April 2, 2015 in Yangon. The NLD claimed 43 out of 44 parliamentary seats as the country continues its path of political and diplomatic reform. Hide Caption 14 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi is surrounded by media as she visits polling stations in her constituency during the parliamentary elections on April 1, 2015 in Kaw Hmu, Myanmar. Hide Caption 15 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi and Secreatary of State Hillary Clinton stand together during a news conference after their meeting at her residence in Yangon on December 2, 2011, where they laid out a framework for reforms. Hide Caption 16 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi speaks in Yangon during a meeting to mark Human RIghts Day on December 10, 2010. Hide Caption 17 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi addresses thousands of her supporters at her National League for Democracy headquarters on November 14, 2010. Hide Caption 18 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi greets crowds of well-wishers at the gate of her house after her release from house arrest, on November 13, 2010, in Yangon. Hide Caption 19 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – U.S. President George W. Bush signs H.R. 4286, which gave the Congressional Gold Medal in absentia to Suu Kyi, in the Oval Office of the White House on May 6, 2008. From left : California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, first lady Laura Bush and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. Hide Caption 20 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi listens to a question during a news conference after being freed from 19 months under house arrest May 6, 2002, making a triumphant return to her party's headquarters in Yangon. A year later, her motorcade was attacked by a pro-government mob, and she was placed under house arrest again. Hide Caption 21 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi's son, Alexander Aris, left, accepts America's highest civilian honor from U.S. President Bill Clinton on his mother's behalf on December 6, 2000, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington. Hide Caption 22 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi addresses hundreds of anxious Burmese supporters from the main gate of her family compound in Yangon on July 14, 1995. Hide Caption 23 of 24 Photos: Photos: Suu Kyi through the years Suu Kyi through the years – Suu Kyi speaks in Yangon during an anti-military regime rally on August 26, 1988. Hide Caption 24 of 24

Suu Kyi -- a national hero who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest -- is overwhelmingly her country's most popular politician.

Under the country's military-drafted constitution, she is barred from the presidency due to a rule prohibiting anyone with foreign family members from assuming top office. Suu Kyi's late husband was British, and her two sons have British passports.

The president is not directly elected by the public, but chosen by MPs following the vote. Suu Kyi will stand as an MP, and has hinted at a civilian candidate to put forward for the role.

Suu Kyi says she'd be "above the president" if her party wins Sunday's general elections. She made the comments during a news conference in Yangon on Thursday, and added that there have been irregularities in advance voting, fraud and intimidation -- and that the process was falling short of its billing as Myanmar's first free and fair election in 25 years.