A defeat in elections for the upper house of the Egyptian Parliament prompted the Muslim Brotherhood to rally around Mohamed ElBaradei, the group said.
The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood ran 12 candidates in Tuesday elections for the Shura council, the upper house of Parliament.
The ruling National Democratic Party of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak scored well in Tuesday's election as expected. The Muslim Brotherhood said
its supporters were intimidated at the poll, adding it expected a poor showing.
Voter turnout for Shura council elections is historically low.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders said none of the Shura council candidates, who ran as independents, won seats in the elections.
The group said it would now rally behind the change platform of Egyptian diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, al-Jazeera reports.
ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Cairo in February amid rumors he may challenge 82-year-old
Mubarak in 2011 elections.
He has brushed off specifics on his political intentions, saying he was serving primarily as an agent of change.
The Muslim Brotherhood said its defeat in the Tuesday election only strengthened its resolve to usher in political reform in Egypt.