TEHERAN: As night falls, rival supporters of Iran's presidential candidates take over the streets of Teheran in boisterous scenes, which at times resemble more a giant party than an election campaign in a conservative Islamic state.

In the run-up to tomorrow's hotly contested vote, mainly young people descend on the capital's most famous boulevard in the evenings and bring traffic to a standstill in a cacophony of chanting slogans, honking car horns and loud music.

But while many of those thronging tree-lined Vali-ye Asr in relatively affluent northern Teheran make clear their desire for political change, it also offers them a chance to let off steam and mingle with the opposite sex in public.