YANGON: Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for “clean politics” in a video message marking her 70th birthday on Friday, saying looming elections would be crucial in deciding the country’s future.

Suu Kyi and her party are expected to make sweeping gains at the polls slated for October or November in what is seen as one of the greatest tests yet of the former military-ruled nation’s transition towards democracy.

The Nobel laureate, who entered Parliament in 2012 after landmark by-elections following a decades-long democracy struggle, said this year was a “very important time” for Myanmar, which was ruled by the army for nearly half a century.

“How this election is held, what the results are and what the situation in the country is after the election, will not just have an impact this year, or next year, but for many years to come,” she said in a recorded message posted on Facebook.

Suu Kyi, who is currently barred from becoming president by a junta-era constitution, also called for “clean politics,” free from trickery and coercion.

“Only if we have clean politics can our country develop in peace,” she added. The opposition leader has declined to completely rule out a boycott of this year’s poll as she campaigns to change the constitution.

The charter excludes anyone from top political office who has foreign children and her two sons are British.

Analysts say she is unlikely to succeed in changing the charter in time, as she faces strong opposition from military MPs who hold a quarter of parliamentary seats.