Apparently the UN did send observers .

I had been bothered by earlier reports that they would not monitor the election. I believe Bobert wrote yesterday that there was only one UN observer, and that in the Green Zone. Not sure where he got that.

"UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's representative in Iraq described the election as "transparent and fair" and took heart at what he said was a high turnout.

'Even in security difficult areas, there are people lining up to vote. In the north and in the south, the turnout is particularly heavy,' the UN official, Ashraf Qazi, told AFP."

Anyway, it seems it was a pretty good day in Iraq.