Do the Ahlul Khibra, who identify the Marja Taqleed, have to be Ayatollahs or Marja's themselves? Do they need to have reached the level of Ijtihad or can they just be normal scholars who are intermediate students at a Hawza?
Ahlul Khibra are the experienced scholars in the Hawza who have the full ability to evaluate the standard of knowledge of highest scholars and give scientific opinion about who is the most knowledgeable among all the scholars. They do not need to be Maraaji' themselves. They are not any normal scholar or intermediate students at Hawza.
Wassalam.