A day after the UK 'welcomed the commencement of local elections in Nepal' but refused to 'comment on the (election) process', the US on Tuesday 'recognised the efforts' in conducting the first phase of polls.

In what seems to be a grudging press statement, the US embassy in Kathmandu said: 'We recognise the efforts of all stakeholders in conducting what appears to have been a largely peaceful and broadly-supported first round of local elections.'

The US reiterated a line from the UK embassy’s statement: 'We strongly encourage the Government of Nepal to permit unrestricted international election observation during the second phase of local elections, in order to enable the international community, including accredited diplomats, to observe and offer support to the outcomes of the election.'

Sources say diplomats in Kathmandu had approached the Election Commission (EC) for permission to travel outside the Kathmandu Valley to observe elections. But the EC declined, allowing them to watch (not observe) elections only inside the valley.

"We provided liaison officers for diplomats to go around and watch election activities in Kathmandu," an EC official told Nepali Times. "But remember: they were just allowed to watch and not observe, meaning that they would not need to report to us."

Now, diplomats want permission to observe the second phase of local elections, which will take place in four provinces on 14 June. But the EC says it will not give permission for outsiders to observe elections in the second phase.

Both UK and US governments have urged the government to create a conducive environment for the second phase, which is code for saying that the Constitution must be amended before the second phase.

However, China has wholeheartedly welcomed the first phase of elections.

India, which has not welcomed Nepal's new Constitution under which these local elections – the first in 19 years – are taking place, has remained silent. However, a report in the Hindustan Times says that new Indian ambassador to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri, has told Madhesi parties to not pursue an amendment to the Constitution and to take part in the second phase.

The report reads: 'Indian diplomats in Kathmandu have told Nepal’s Tarai leadership to drop the demand of changes in the Constitution and participate in the second phase of local elections scheduled next month, a move being seen as a dramatic U-turn on a policy crafted over two years'.