"Alexander Lukashenko, who has been governing Belarus with the support of the Russian regime for the past 30 years, is organizing another election farce on January 26 in an attempt to embellish his dictatorial regime with a false mask of democracy, all the while repressing human and civil rights," the committee says in a statement issued on Friday.

MPs said it will not recognize the upcoming "sham" elections.

It also calls for free and democratic presidential elections in Belarus at the first opportunity under the supervision of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations.

"The Foreign Affairs Committee calls on the international community to exert pressure on the Belarus regime to put an end to the repressions and to free the people imprisoned for expressing their views," the committee said.

Viasna Human Rights Center says 1,256 political prisoners are currently illegally detained in Belarus because of their political views.

"The Foreign Affairs Committee expresses its support to the people of Belarus in their fight for a free, democratic, and dignified future, and calls on continuing active international cooperation on all levels to support democracy, civil society, and free press in Belarus," the statement said.

Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov told ERR News last month Estonia would not recognize Belarus' presidential elections or their results, calling the process a "charade."

Belarusian leader Lukashenko's five-year term ends in 2025 and he will seek reelection this weekend.

A crackdown after the vote in 2020 shattered the opposition and no credible opposition candidate will participate, activists say. The election was widely denounced as rigged. 

Candidates who stood in 2020 are in jail or living in exile. Harassment of their supporters by the Belarusian state security services continues.  

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sanctioned officials who allowed the use of force against peaceful protesters. 

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