PANAMA CITY, PANAMA -- Opposition candidate Ricardo Martinelli won Panama's presidency, the Electoral Tribunal said.

Erasmo Pinilla, one of the members of the Electoral Tribunal, telephoned Martinelli live on television to officially notify him of his victory in Sunday's election.

"I want to thank the Panamanian people and I assure them that I will build a government of national unity," Martinelli said.

Martinelli, who ran on a theme of change, won 59 percent of the vote to ruling party candidate Balbina Herrera's 36 percent, with 85 percent of the ballots counted.

Herrera, a former housing minister and member of the Partido Revolucionario Democratico, or PRD, conceded to her rival and declared herself the "leader of the opposition."

President Martin Torrijos congratulated Martinelli and invited the president-elect to meet with him on Tuesday to "start the transition process."

Martinelli is the founder and leader of the Cambio Democratico party, and he brought the established Partido Panameñista, Molirena party and Union Patriotica party into his Alianza por el Cambio.

"Panama does not deserve to be where it's at," Martinelli said, adding that he was "extremely honored" to have won with broad support at the polls.

"This victory is not mine, it belongs to all the Panamanian people," the businessman said, calling on his political rivals to "help us change this country."

Panamanians also elected 71 National Assembly members, 75 mayors and 20 Central American Parliament members on Sunday.

The PRD lost its majority in the National Assembly and the mayoralty of Panama City, according to Electoral Tribunal figures. EFE