ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday announced that general elections for the National Assembly shall be held May 11, the President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar announced Wednesday.

Babar said that the President announced the date as soon as the summary was received from Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday.

“The president received a summary from the government asking him to announce a suitable date for the election, so the president announced today that a general election to the National Assembly will be held on May 11,” said the spokesman.

The National Assembly stood dissolved on completion of its constitutional term of five years on March 16.

Elections will also be held for assemblies in Pakistan’s four provinces, but it was not immediately clear whether those polls will also be held on May 11.

A parliamentary committee has until Friday to select a candidate to head up a caretaker administration, which will formally steer the country towards the ballot box.

It was given the job after the major ruling party and the main opposition party, the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), failed to reach an agreement on a name by Tuesday.