CAIRO, (AP) – Egypt’s official news agency says the long banned Muslim Brotherhood has been recognized as the Freedom and Justice Party.

The announcement Tuesday would allow the group to run in parliamentary elections set for September.

The Brotherhood is considered one of Egypt’s best organized blocs following the fall of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February. It was founded in 1928 but outlawed since 1954.

Even so, it has built and maintained a powerful social welfare network. Its candidates, running as independents, won 20 percent of the vote in a 2005 parliamentary election.

The group has said it plans to field candidates in about half of Egypt’s districts.

To qualify as a party under new regulations, the party has declared it will be open to Muslims, Christians and women.