The decision, which comes nearly a month after a leading democracy advocate called on parties to skip the polls, highlights the fractured state of Egypt's opposition.

But the Brotherhood's choice to field candidates in the November polls was widely expected. The organization traditionally views elections as its best chance to demonstrate its strength to its supporters.

"We choose to be positive and run in the elections," said Brotherhood lawmaker Saad El-Katatni, the head of the group's caucus in Parliament.

He said the decision stemmed in part from the opposition's inability to present a common front.

"If there was unity, we would have joined them (in a boycott) to embarrass the regime," he said. He added that it was too early to say how many candidates the Brotherhood will field.

Egypt's three main political parties — the liberal Al-Wafd, the pan-Arab Nasserist, and the leftist opposition Tagammu — have also said that they will contest the elections.

That leaves former UN nuclear chief Mohamed El-Baradei, who initiated the call to stay away from the polls, his supporters and two small parties alone in their boycott.

El-Baradei, who has emerged as a popular opposition figure since returning home this year, made his boycott appeal early this month, saying the elections are sure to be rigged. He said those who contest the polls would be going against "the national will."

El-Baradei doesn't have a recognized political party and said he won't participate in official political life unless election laws and the constitution are changed to remove state restrictions on freedoms.

The Brotherhood won 88 seats in Egypt's current 454-seat Parliament — a surprisingly strong result that was widely viewed as a victory. Its candidates run as independents because the group is officially banned by the government.

A total of 518 seats are up for grabs in the next Parliament, and the ruling National Democratic Party is widely expected to dominate.