Less than a year after young voters propelled Barack Obama to the White House, backing him in 41 states,  they may again prove the deciding factor in a major world power’s presidential election ––this time, on the other side of the globe.

A supporter of main challenger and reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi films the event with her mobile phone, amidst a festive atmosphere in the crowd at an election rally at the Heidarnia stadium in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Iran will hold its tenth presidential election since the 1979 Revolution this Friday, and with nearly half of the country’s eligible voters under age 30, neither incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nor challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi will claim victory without significant backing from young voters. No incumbent president has ever lost a re-election bid in Iran.

Taking a page out of Obama’s playbook, Mousavi has employed an outreach campaign capitalizing on new media and social networking sites to threaten the sitting president.

As the first Iranian politician to harness the mobilization power of the internet, Mousavi has reached out to young voters via Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, on which he has over 35,000 supporters.

These social media outlets are the few safe havens for political expression in Iran, an Islamic theocracy that greatly restricts freedom of press and freedom of expression.

Last month the government temporarily blocked access to Facebook, inciting outrage from Mousavi supporters who argued authorities were attempting to undermine campaign efforts. While the site was eventually restored and Ahmadinejad denied any knowledge or political motive behind the censorship, critics argue it may have been in response to polls showing the incumbent trailing in several major cities.

Ahmadinejad defeated Mousavi’s reform party with 62 percent of the vote in 2005, however recent pressure both domestically and internationally could spell out his defeat later this week.

The Iranian economy has been devastated by skyrocketing inflation coupled with widespread mismanagement. On the international stage, Ahmadinejad’s controversial and often inflammatory statements have often been ridiculed by the international community as well as by young Iranian citizens.

In a story line all too familiar to American youth, Ahmadinejad’s platform is consistent with the policies of his first term (his slogan: “We did. We can”), while Mousavi hopes rheorical change will resonate with Iranian voters as it did American’s last November. His slogan: “A progressive Iran with law, justice and freedom.”

Pollsters say the election polls are too close to call, but one thing that is certain is the unique role youth will play this year, and have played in previous Iranian elections.

Prior to 2007, the official voting age for many local and national elections was 15. While opposed by Ahmadinejad’s administration, supporters argued the move brought the voting age in line with the minimum age for military service and driving.

In January 2007, Iran’s Guardian Council voted to increase the voting age to 18. An attempt to reverse this change failed in the nation’s legislature last month.

Despite a significantly sliced demographic, both candidates acknowledge that, like the U.S. presidential election just months ago, this contest could be in the hands of youth.

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