"I am pleased. Victory. We won. Now we have to unite forces", he said, as cited by the television network Telemetro.
According to recent data, only 93 percent of the votes have been counted.
READ MORE: Panama Revokes Credentials of 14 Venezuelan Diplomats — Foreign Ministry
In the meantime, late on Sunday, the head of the Electoral Tribunal of Panama, Heriberto Arauz, said at a press conference that he was not ready to release the name of the winner in the tight race.
At that moment, the gap between the two leading candidates, Cortizo and Romulo Roux, was only 1.93 percent, or less than 35,000 people. Roux has not yet conceded defeat.