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Over 55 percent of Iran's
eligible voters went to the polls, according to the Interior Ministry. Many of
the voters were young people below the age of 25 who make up half of Iran's total
population. The minimum voting age in Iran is 15. Because so many of the
country's eligible voters are young, nearly all the presidential candidates infused
their campaigns with slogans and images geared toward the youth vote. Rafsanjani,
who served as president twice before from 1989 and 1997 and who was once considered
a hard-line conservative, touted social reform as part of his campaign. He hired
popular Iranian filmmaker Kamal Tabrizi to help legitimize his image among young
voters. Tabrizi's last film, The Lizard, was a spoof on Iran's clergy.  "When
you're looking for an election film then definitely any aspect that connects you
to the people is crucial," Tabrizi told the BBC.
Tech-savvy teenagers
spent the final days of the campaign passing out Rafsanjani election stickers,
playing loud music -- under normal circumstances an activity that is banned in
Iran -- and handing out copies of a CD created especially for Rafsanjani's campaign,
the BBC reported. A second candidate, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, appeared in
a campaign film flying a passenger plane to appeal to young voters. | 
The
two men, who were competing in a runoff vote, were among seven candidates vying
to lead the conservative Islamic republic.
Iran
is known for its suppression of free speech -- many independent newspapers have
been closed by the Guardian Council. 
American schools and financial aid should be only for legal citizens of the United States. There should be no exceptions to this.
