Moe Sihota, president of the B.C. New Democratic Party and a holdover from the party's glory days in provincial politics in the 1990s, announced his resignation Saturday.
The move came three days after Adrian Dix announced he would step down as party leader following a leadership convention next year.
Sihota, 58, will leave the post he has held since 2009 when his term ends following the November party convention in Vancouver.
“I am proud of some of the great strides forward we have made together, and am also excited about our shared future," he said in a statement on the B.C. NDP website. "Our party possesses a great deal of talent, and is a key reason in my decision to step down. It is time for the next chapter in the B.C. NDP's history, which means a new generation of leadership."
A five-person panel commissioned by the party is in the midst of a review of the NDP's shocking loss in the provincial election May 14. The NDP enjoyed a double-digit lead in the polls in the days leading up to the official campaign, but lost ground in the end to the B.C. Liberals.
Sihota said in July that he expected the panel to examine "the DNA of the NDP."