Kathmandu, Sha'ban 21, 1436, Jun 8, 2015, SPA -- Nepal's politicians struck a late night deal on Monday, agreeing on eight federal states, paving the way for the writing of a constitution, according to dpa. In a near-midnight announcement, Nepali Congress leader Chinikaji Shrestha said the parties had signed a 16-point pact to the effect. The number of federal states had been the chief bone of contention between the parties, with the electoral system, form of governance and the judiciary also contested issues. The parties agreed on a mixed electoral system and to set up a constitutional court that would be in place for ten years to deal with war-time cases. The parties also agreed on an executive prime minister elected by the people and the president elected by the parliament as the ceremonial head of state. The parties decided to form a federal commission to decide on the boundary of the provinces and federal assembly that would name them. Nepal elected a constituent assembly in 2008 with the mandate of writing a constituion, which was one of the provisions in the peace deal signed in 2006 to put an end to a decade-long civil war. The charter writing body however was re-elected in 2013 November after it failed to meet its deadline several times and was automatically dissolved. On Monday, Shrestha told journalists that the parties would now work at full speed on the promulgation of the constitution. --SPA 22:14 LOCAL TIME 19:14 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w