Rana Bokhari

Rana Bokhari (born October 23, 1977) was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 2013 until 2016 in Manitoba, Canada.

Rana Bokhari
Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
In office
October 26, 2013 – September 24, 2016
Preceded byJon Gerrard
Succeeded byJudy Klassen (interim)
Personal details
Born (1977-10-23) October 23, 1977
Anola, Manitoba
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceWinnipeg, Manitoba
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba
ProfessionLawyer

Background

Bokhari was born on a farm near Anola, Manitoba.[1] As a student she attended the University of Manitoba where she obtained degrees in criminology and psychology. She then went on to complete a degree in law at Robson Hall, focusing on corporate commercial law. Bokhari was active in the Manitoba Law Students Association, serving as President in 2012.[2]

Bokhari moved to Pakistan in 2002, living there with her family until she returned to Winnipeg in 2006.[3] Her childhood home and family chicken farm were lost to a fire in 2012.[4]

Liberal leadership

After long-standing Manitoba Liberal Party leader Jon Gerrard resigned his position in 2013, Bokhari was the first person formally to declare her candidacy. She faced two opponents, Bob Axworthy and Dougald Lamont. During the party leadership contest, Bokhari was seen as an outsider. Although two of her relatives had stood as Liberal candidates at the previous provincial election, she had not previously had a profile in the provincial party. Despite this, she was endorsed by the Manitoba Senator Maria Chaput, the leading Liberal candidate from the 2011 elections, Paul Hesse and party Vice-President Robert Young. She won a first ballot victory by one vote, with 431 votes.

The victory made Rana Bokhari the youngest person ever to lead the Manitoba Liberals and the first Manitoban of South Asian descent to lead a political party in the province.[5]

She faced internal criticism from party members and former leadership challenger Bob Axworthy, who accused Bokhari of "purging" longtime Manitoba Liberal members as she solidified control of the party.[6] Party membership and fundraising struggled under Bokhari,.[7]

Bokhari committed to making Manitoba the "hub of something" in her year end interview with the Winnipeg Free Press. She explained "I want Manitoba to be the IT capital of this country or the innovation capital of this country."[8]

In 2014 Bokhari endorsed Winnipeg mayoral candidate Brian Bowman in the 2014 Winnipeg Municipal election.[9]

In the 2016 Manitoba general election Bokhari finished third in Fort Rouge, behind future Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew. On May 7, 2016, Bokhari announced that she would not lead the party into the next election but would remain on as leader until her successor was chosen.[10] She ultimately resigned as leader, effective September 24, 2016, and opened a law practice, Bokhari, Smith and Walker, the same month.[11]

Electoral results
2016 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticWab Kinew3,36037.63–13.32
Progressive ConservativeAudrey Gordon2,57128.80+8.76
LiberalRana Bokhari1,79220.07–2.92
GreenGrant Sharp98311.01+5.60
ManitobaMatthew Ostrove1751.96–
CommunistPaula Ducharme470.53–
Total valid votes 8,928100.0  
Total rejected and declined ballots 1251.38
Turnout 9,05365.15
Eligible voters 13,896
New Democratic hold Swing –11.04
Source: Elections Manitoba[12][13]
gollark: Stealing the tape means I can't enjoy it until I go through all the hassle of spending about 30 seconds making a new 32 minute tape and downloading the tape image on!
gollark: In the audio volume settings it's controlled by the jukeboxes one.
gollark: Just don't go near it, or turn down the music volume.
gollark: Why would he do such a thing⸘‽‽⸘
gollark: WAR!

References
  1. Kusch, Larry (October 26, 2013). "New Manitoba Liberal leader Bokhari looks to get party in 'fighting form'".
  2. "Robson Hall Overview 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. Robson Hall Student Profiles "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Family loses barns, home to fire. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/family-loses-barns-home-to-fire-1.1205984
  5. Larry Kusch (October 27, 2013). "An 'emotional roller-coaster' for new Liberal leader". Winnipeg Free Press.
  6. Liberal Leader Faces More Internal Turmoil http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-liberal-leader-rana-bokhari-faces-more-internal-turmoil-1.1785566
  7. Rana Bokhari won Manitoba Liberal leadership with least donors http://globalnews.ca/news/1330133/rana-bokhari-won-manitoba-liberal-leadership-with-least-donors/
  8. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/in-conversation-with-rana-bokhari-up-close-287401381.html
  9. Bowman has momentum in new poll numbers http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/bowman-sees-momentum-in-new-poll-numbers-1.2040346
  10. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rana-bokhari-steps-down-liberal-party-leader-manitoba-1.3572299
  11. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/former-liberal-leader-bokhari-moving-on-to-new-law-firm-394678411.html
  12. "Candidates: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  13. "41st General Election Official Results" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
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