Islamabad (Web Desk): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday announced to hold election in Punjab on May 14.
The ECP took the decision in an emergency meeting held today for consultations on the Supreme Court (SC) verdict.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired the meeting.
In a notification, the electoral body has also issued the schedule for the polls in the light of SC's ruling.
On Tuesday, the SC declared ECP's March 22 decision on Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections as null and void.
A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced the reserved verdict.
In its verdict, the court declared the ECP's orders postponing the provincial assembly elections until October 8 as "illegal".
The court directed the ECP to reinstate its previous election schedule under which polls were to be held and extended it by 13 days.
"The caretaker government in Punjab will assist the ECP and instructed the electoral body to inform the court if the government refused to do so," the SC order said.
The constitution and laws of the Election Commission did not allow extension of the date, it added.
As per the decision, candidates would be able to submit nomination papers from April 10, the ECP would publish the list of candidates on April 19, and electoral symbols would be issued by April 20.
The court also directed the government to release Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab by April 10 and told the ECP to submit a report on the matter in court the same day.
