Defeated Iran candidate appears at rally

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) - Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi appeared at a rally in Tehran Monday, the first time he has been seen in public since the disputed election on Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the demonstration, Amir Mehdi Kazemi, a reporter for Iran's Press TV said.

Moussavi may be trying to get Tehran's Freedom Square to address the demonstrators, Moussavi supporters told CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

She saw a pair of four-wheel drive vehicles pass at high speed to join the march, one with security officials hanging off the car and the other with a camera.

Crowds shouted "Moussavi! Moussavi!" as they passed, suggesting that he was in one of the vehicles.

There was no chanting of political slogans among the marchers, with demonstrators quieting anyone who tried to shout, Amanpour said, because the Interior Ministry has banned political demonstrations.

The rally is a repeat of a march which Moussavi supporters staged Wednesday, before the election.

Mousssavi will urge his supporters to refrain from violence if he manages to address the crowd, backers of the candidate told Amanpour.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the election by a margin of 2 to 1, surprising many experts who had expected Moussavi to win.

The country's election authority said Monday it will investigate allegations of ballot fraud, the government-funded Press TV reported.

Iran's Guardian Council - a body of top clerics and judges that supervises elections - will look into Moussavi's complaints that Friday's election was marred by irregularities, the network reported. It is expected to issue its findings within 10 days.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has given his blessing to the outcome of the election, assured Moussavi of the Council's investigation in a meeting Sunday, Press TV said.

Official results from Friday's elections had Ahmadinejad winning with more than 62 percent of the vote.

But Moussavi, the hardline incumbent's leading opponent, has disputed the results, and his supporters took to the streets, often clashing with police.

Many of the more violent incidents were blamed on groups of Ahmadinejad supporters. Armed with clubs, metal batons and baseball bats, men in motorcycles combed through streets and alleys for protesters Sunday, chasing and beating them.