VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It was a rough weekend for the BC Conservatives and some pundits are questioning whether they’ll be able to recover in time for the election.

On Friday John Martin, who ran for the Conservatives in Chilliwack-Hope in a by-election earlier this year, announced he was leaving the party to join the BC Liberals.

On Saturday John van Dongen, who left the BC Liberals to join the Conservatives earlier this year, announced he was leaving the party to sit as an independent.

“They’re going to have difficult time getting their organization and their candidates together in time for an election that’s going to be here sooner than they think,” says Black Press legislative reporter Tom Fletcher. “It was the last thing they needed with some genuine support, I think, and certainly a lot of disenchantment with the BC Liberals and the HST.”

Fletcher says van Dongen will have a tough time getting re-elected in Abbotsford South if he runs as an independent.

Van Dongen was the party’s only sitting MLA.

Members also voted against holding a leadership review for John Cummins at their Annual General Meeting on Saturday.