Watching some PBS news last night, one of the guests was explaining the different ruling bodies in Iran and how they operate politically. Apparently one of these bodies, the Supreme Council I think they said, has to approve candidates, although I didn't get the sense that they actually go out and "pick" people to apply to run and then approve them. Still, it's not exactly "open" in the sense we Americans think when talking about our elections.
Also, they don't run campaigns for lengthy periods as we do; I think I heard they had 2 weeks of campaigning in Iran for this past Presidential election.
Mousavi became the kinda' default candidate for a wider middle class movement...or so I heard someone say. He has held the position of Iranian Prime Minister and was part & parcel of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, so he is not unknown to Iranian politics.
Certainly interesting stuff to watch, and who among us doesn't want to see that sawed off little hater Ahmadouchebag get put out of office.
