Egypt's once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has announced the formation of a new political party, which it says will contest half of the parliamentary seats in the September election.
A spokesman Saturday described the Freedom and Justice party as a civil group with an Islamic background.
The Brotherhood has run independent candidates in the past to get around a ban on its participation in politics.
The new party has pledged to cooperate with secular groups in Egypt's new parliament. The Brotherhood also says the Freedom and Justice party will not field a candidate in November's presidential election.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.