2009 Mir-Hossein Mousavi presidential campaign

Mousavi ran as an independent Principled Reformist candidate.[1] Although one of the original founders of the Iranian reformist camp, he shares many conservative principles. Many reformist parties, among them reformist Islamic Iranian Participation Front (whose main candidate was Khatami), supported his candidacy after Khatami withdrew from the race.[2] Many supporters of the reformist movement, however, objected to Mousavi's candidacy on the grounds he was not committed to the principles of the reformist parties.[3] Although Mousavi stated he was not running as a reformist, he indicated he welcomed the support of different parties, both reformist and conservative.[4] He started his campaign from the center of Iranian politics, but over time shifted more towards the reformist camp by declaring his support for reform. Although some active members of the conservative camp, such as Emad Afroogh, and the conservative newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, supported Mousavi's candidacy, he did not receive the official backing of any major conservative party. His candidacy made it harder for the conservatives to support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and large conservative parties, such as the Combatant Clergy Association, did not back Ahmadinejad (the then current President) for a second term of office.[5]

The BBC reported Mousavi "called for greater personal freedoms in Iran and criticised the ban on private television channels", but "refused to back down from the country's disputed nuclear programme, saying it is "for peaceful purposes".[6]

On May 30, Mousavi pledged that, if elected, he would amend "discriminatory and unjust regulations" against women, and take other measures in favour of women's rights and equality.[7]

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  Mousavi addressing supporters during a presidential campaign stop in Zanjan
• Mousavi delivering a speech in Zanjan in Azerbaijani language

On May 23, 2009, the Iranian government blocked access to Facebook across the country, but rescinded the blockage after public protests. The Guardian reported the blockage had been a response to the use of Facebook by the candidates running against Ahmadinejad.[8] Mousavi had great support from those using social networking sites such as Facebook; PC World reported Mousavi's Facebook page had more than 6,600 supporters at the time.[9]