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The military declared, via its own television channel, a one-year state of emergency and announced that former general Myint Swe would be acting president for the next year.

It alleged “huge irregularities” in the November polls that the election commission had failed to address.

“As the situation must be resolved according to the law, a state of emergency is declared,” the announcement said.

The army later pledged to hold fresh elections after one year.

Suu Kyi had issued a pre-emptive statement ahead of her detention calling on people “not to accept a coup”, according to a post on the official Facebook page of her party’s chairperson.

The military moved quickly to stifle dissent, severely restricting the internet and mobile phone communications across the country.

In Yangon, the former capital that remains Myanmar’s commercial hub, troops seized the city hall just ahead of the announcement, according to an AFP journalist.

Several trucks were seen in Yangon carrying army supporters, with Myanmar flags and blaring nationalist songs, and some NLD members reported that security forces had ordered them to stay at home.

People rushed to grocery stores to stock up on rice, oil and instant noodles. Banks were temporarily closed by the communications freeze, but some were expected to reopen today.

Elsewhere, the chief minister of Karen state and several other regional ministers were also held, party sources told AFP.

Myanmar’s November polls were only the second democratic elections the country had seen since it emerged from the 49-year grip of military rule in 2011.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the European Union, Britain and Australia were among others to condemn the coup.

China declined to criticise anyone, instead calling for all sides to “resolve differences”.

The NLD won more than 80 percent of the vote in November -- increasing its support from 2015.

But the military has for weeks complained the polls were riddled with irregularities, and claimed to have uncovered more than 10 million instances of voter fraud.

Myanmar has seen two previous coups since independence from Britain in 1948 -- in 1962 and 1988.

Suu Kyi, 75, is an immensely popular figure in Myanmar for her opposition to the military -- which earned her the Nobel Peace Prize -- having spent the best part of two decades under house arrest during the previous dictatorship.

But her international image was shredded during her time in power as she defended the military-backed crackdown in 2017 against the country’s Rohingya community.

About 750,000 Rohingya were forced to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh during the campaign, which UN investigators said amounted to genocide.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was “appalled” by her arrest.

Suu Kyi was only ever de facto leader of Myanmar as the military had inserted a clause in the constitution that barred her from being president. But to circumvent that clause, she assumed leadership of the country via a new role of “state counsellor”.

The 2008 constitution also ensured the military would remain a significant force in government by retaining control of the interior, border and defence ministries.