So Mohammed Magariaf [Magarief] is no longer President of the General National Council (GNC), having fallen foul of the new Political Isolation Law intended to keep all former Gaddafi-era officials out of public office.
According to a report from America's Fox News, one of the front runners in the race to succeed him is a former member of the jihadist Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) whose brother was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan last year.
Many will be watching with interest to see if the winner is from the extremist or moderate camps; and, as our security expert James Hopkinson points out, there will be few who are completely untainted by the Gaddafi era.
Businesses, both local and international, will be keen to see an expansion of the private sector in an economy still dominated by state control and public ownership. But are any of the candidates willing or able to bring this about?
