Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari says her party can bounce back from what she admitted was a ``rough week'' on the campaign trail.

The Liberals lost another candidate firing Kurt Berger as their candidate in the Elmwood constituency three days after it was revealed he had pleaded guilty to assaulting a girlfriend in 2002.

A tough week for the Manitoba Liberals may have an impact at the polls. That's according to Brandon University Associate Professor of Political Science Kelly Saunders, after the Liberals were unable to put forward a full slate of candidates for the first time since 1999. Four of those candidates --including in Agassiz and Lakeside-- were unable to provide adequate paperwork for their nominations, while Gimli Candidate Joanne Levy was disqualified after the NDP launched complaints as Levy had worked as an enumerator this year, prior to her nomination. Saunders says these challenges aren't good news for the party, noting it provides a perception of disorganization, when they should be building on momentum from the federal election.

"The fact is you've got voters in Manitoba hungry for change, clearly willing to vote Liberal as we saw in the last federal election. They're certainly not happy with the NDP, the incumbent government. They not really warming up to Brian Pallister, certainly there's more support for the PCs, but a lot of voters have a bit of a question mark around Brian Pallister, so they're hungry for another party and another leader to vote for."

Just what the impact could be at the polls is still a question. Saunders says while the Liberals will likely face more of a challenge, it's hard to say where disenfranchised voters may turn.

"The NDP and the Liberals are fighting for the anybody but conservative ground that's left over. Certainly if the Liberals can't carve out a good, legitimate position for themselves and present themselves as the party for the ABC vote. then those voters, if they can't bring themselves to vote NDP, may give the Progressive Conservatives a second look."

Saunders says there's also a chance for a low voter turnout in this election. She says those who typically align with NDP may have been thinking about voting Liberal, but if the challenges continue they may stay home and withhold their vote.