Chandigarh, Nov. 29 -- The zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Punjab will be held on December 14 and the results will be declared after the counting of votes on December 17, said state election commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, Chaudhary said the nomination process will run from December 1 to December 4, followed by scrutiny on December 5. Candidates will have time until December 6 to withdraw their nominations. 50% of the seats have been reserved for women, aiming to strengthen their participation in grassroots governance.

With the announcement of the election schedule, the model code of conduct has come into immediate effect in all gram panchayats falling under the relevant zila pa...