Rana Bokhari staying on as Manitoba Liberal leader

Rana Bokhari is not steppingdown as leader of the Manitoba Liberals.

In fact, she said, she never considered quitting.

"Now is not the time to disrupt anything, we've got to keep moving forward," Bokharisaid aftera meeting held in the Manitoba Liberalprovincial office Thursday evening.

Bokhariledthe Liberals to triple their seats in the Manitoba Legislature on Tuesdayfrom oneto three sitting Liberal MLAs but she faced some significantdisappointments onelection day as well.

Bokhari was unable to win a seat for herselfin Fort Rouge, losing to the NDP's Wab Kinew. And the Liberals fell short of capturing four seats in the legislature,meaning they are unable to meet the threshold forofficial partystatus and the perks that come with it.

Nevertheless Bokhari said Liberals were "celebrating" on Thursday.

"It's the first time in I don't know how long, we've had more than one person in the legislature, which is really great," Bokhari said.

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Manitoba Liberal Party president Paul Hesse and newly electedLiberal MLAsJudy Klassen,Cindy Lamoureux and incumbentJonGerrard, attended Thursday's meeting as well.

Bokhari and Hesse were seen hugging after she announced her plans to stay on as leader.

Earlier on Thursday, Manitoba Liberal Party campaign manager, Andy Drummond, said he hoped Bokhari would step down immediately after the party failedto reach official party status.

Bokhari brushed off the criticisms.

"It's easy to stand on the outside and throw stones ... unless they are choosing to actually help us move forward there's no place for them here," she said of her critics.

Bokhari leadership future will be decided at the Liberal'sannual general meeting next year.

For now her focus is to keep candidates and volunteers engaged with the Liberal Party, she said.

"Manitobans deserve that third voice and I feel this election showed that," said Bokhari.