One of the outstanding features that Khatami enjoyed was that the public was clear of his ‎views and positions. He had demonstrated these to the public and civil activists during his ‎‎2 presidential terms and even subsequently. Among the current two reformist candidates, ‎Mr. Karubi’s positions and views are to a large extent known. His activities since the last ‎presidential elections have identified his views.‎

But the positions of Mir Hossein Mousavi are very unclear because for years he stayed ‎away from politics, particularly the reform period. His recent public talk too has been so ‎vague that it has actually added to the ambiguity. What does emerge from his talk is that ‎he is dissatisfied with the current economic situation. His remarks however lack clarity ‎and precision. Perhaps three decades ago this type of talk would have been sufficient to ‎identify his position, but today Iran’s political community and the public expect much ‎greater clarity than what he has presented.‎

The manner and timing of Mousavi’s entry into the race too have added to the ambiguity. ‎From the perspective of Khatami supporters, a key reason why the former president ‎withdrew himself from the race was that Mousavi entered it, and this has created the ‎reason for their dissatisfaction with Mousavi.‎

On the other hand, the performance, direction and policies of Mousavi in the 1980s and ‎his own assessment today of those years raises many questions regarding him which ‎cannot be ignored when considering him for the presidency. The greatest reason for ‎Mousavi’s success during the war years was because of the support he received from the ‎then leader of the revolution, i.e. ayatollah Khomeini. Does he intend to use similar tools ‎today. Many provisions of the constitution, particularly those related to private property - ‎have remained not enforced since Mousavi’s premiership. So it is natural to ask how ‎much effort he is willing to put into materializing those principles. During his tenure, ‎Mousavi had remained silent over numerous violations of people’s rights, including ‎human rights, among which is the house arrest of ayatollah Montazeri, mass unlawful ‎executions in 1988, etc. What is his position over current or future violations of human ‎rights? In any case these are only a few questions that exist for those supporting the ‎reformers and Mousavi cannot remain silent on them.‎

Reformist candidates including Mousavi should not expect that their postures on the ‎performance of Ahmadinejad’s administration be seen as sufficient to identify their place ‎in the current political spectrum of Iran. If last year there were doubts over whether ‎Ahmadinejad would run as the principal presidential candidate for the conservatists, the ‎strong support that he has received from the leader of the regime - speech in Mashhad - ‎has left little doubt about this. Therefore, the clarification of positions by presidential ‎candidates must go much beyond the mere criticism of the current state of affairs or the ‎current administration. Candidates must announce their views and positions on the ‎immediate as well as other political, economic and social issues as well.‎