Myanmar officials on Wednesday set November 8 as the date for a historic general election set to be the first contested by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition in a quarter of a century.

"The general election will be held on November 8. The Union Election Commission will announce further details later," Thant Zin Aung, deputy director of Yangon's election commission, told AFP of the vote, which will select MPs for both houses of parliament.

A president will be chosen later by parliament, but Suu Kyi is barred by the constitution from taking the top job.