Former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has regained control over the country after winning the election held on December 29, 2011, MSNBC is reporting. The country’s first female leader will be given a second chance after defeating current Prime Minister Andrew Holness. While he based his reelection campaign on the belief that an opposition win would turn foreign investors away and ruin hopes of economic progress, Holness said he wishes the new government well.

Official results of the election have not yet been released, but the elections director, Orrette Fisher, said that Simpson Miller’s People’s National Party (PNP) was heading toward a victory over Holness’ Jamaica Labor Party. “Based on the margins, it appears safe to say” that Simpson Miller won, Fisher also said.

Simpson Miller is admired by her supporters for her plainspoken style. She was first elected in March 2006 after P.J. Patterson retired as the PNP’s leader. But she lost the office a year later after a narrow election defeat.

When Simpson Miller thanked her supporters after the announcement of her tentative win at party headquarters in Kingston, she said she was humbled. “I wish to thank the Jamaican people for their love, for their support and for giving the People’s National Party and the leader of the party her own mandate,” she added.

Simpson Miller has pledged to create jobs and secure foreign investment in order to lift the debt-ridden country out of poverty. Jamaica’s debt is estimated at $18.6 billion, or 130 per cent of gross domestic product.

Written by: Karen Benardello