Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, Egypt's military ruler, has asked parliament to convene on Tuesday (June 12) to select the members of a new constitutional assembly. His announcement means that various political factions have probably reached a deal on the makeup of that assembly, ending weeks of brinksmanship. The new assembly will reportedly have a 50-50 split between Islamists and non-Islamists, according to the terms of the deal.

The backstory here, in brief: The parliament appointed a constituent assembly in March to draft the new constitution. It was suspended the following month amidst complaints that the Islamist-dominated body wasn't representative of society.

Political parties have been negotiating ever since about the makeup of a new assembly. SCAF finally gave them an ultimatum on Tuesday, threatening to appoint the assembly itself unless the politicians reached a deal within 48 hours. Now it seems they have.