We welcome the commencement of local elections in Nepal, with voting in three of the seven provinces on 14 May.We are not commenting on the process at this stage.
We urge progress from all stakeholders to work to create the necessary conditions to ensure that the people of the remaining four provinces are also given the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to directly elect local representatives on 14 June.
We encourage unrestricted international election observation to be authorised for the next phase of the polls, to enable the international community, including accredited diplomats, to observe and offer support to the outcomes of the election. We urge any protests to be undertaken peacefully and that the security forces act with restraint. We regret the loss of life in relation to the electoral process over the past week.
The British Embassy reiterates that it remains committed to working with all stakeholders for an inclusive, peaceful and broadly-supported election process.
British Embassy, Nepal
15 May 2017