A potential rebuild of the leadership ranks of the shattered Liberal Party in South Australia has been thrown into disarray with Liberal Deputy Premier Dan van Holst Pellekaan all but certain of losing his country seat of Stuart, ejecting a strong future Liberal leadership contender.

The Liberal Party in SA is hunting for a new leader after Steven Marshall announced on Sunday afternoon that he would step down after losing the state election to Labor’s Peter Malinauskas, although he intends to stay on in the SA Parliament if he manages to cling on and win in his seat of Dunstan, in Adelaide’s inner east.