Rasht, usually seen as a good indicator of the political mood throughout the Islamic republic, has 97 candidates for the three seats on offer in Friday's parliamentary elections. No fewer than 20 of the hopefuls are women, a record for the Islamic Republic.

Siassi, a chemical engineer by training and recently married -- as all female candidates have to be -- is the youngest of the 424 women standing throughout Iran.

She was not orginally seen as a favourite, but her energetic campaigning has reversed the situation and pundits now see her as a real prospect for a parliamentary seat.

Residents are naturally happy to see one of their own, a native Rashti, at the hustings, since this city on the shores of the Caspian has a distinctive and progressive cultural tradition and has historic links with Europe and Russia. They can even find it in their hearts to forgive her for having in fact spent most of her life in Tehran.

On Tuesday, during a public campaign meeting in the Kadus Hotel, this fragile-looking young woman made a brief but confident speech in support of women's role in politics.

She also thanked Rafsanjani's daughter, Fa'ezeh Hashemi, a political figure of national standing, for traveling outside Tehran for the first time to support a candidate.

Siassi's Peugeot 405 carves its way through the crowds, leaving her time for only for a few words any one group of her supporters, but electors love her sunny smile and the hope of even a brief encounter with her.

She is no "yes woman", and not one to let herself be pushed around by the party machine. Within her party she stands clearly on the left, as she demonstrated when she spoke out against the death sentences imposed on three students after the Tehran riots of last July.

"We are suffering from three handicaps: our failure to grow anything but rice, although our agriculture was once varied, the lack of industrialisation and the effects of Caspian pollution. There is also the issue of drinking water," she added.

She doesn't talk a lot about her family life. "My husband is not interested in politics. But he is very happy that I am involved", she says.

"Roshanak Siassi is the surprise package of the campaign," local political journalist Ali Anjamruz said. "She emanates strength. But the political climate in Rasht is tense. No-one can predict what will happen," he said.