Krastyo Vrachev, a Bulgarian MP from the pro-Russian "Revival" party, participated as one of around 430 international observers during the controversial presidential elections in Belarus. The elections, which saw long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko, running for a seventh term, securing almost 88% of the vote, were widely condemned by the European Parliament, which referred to them as a "parody" before they even took place.

Vrachev, a trained meat and milk technologist and chairman of the party's Karlovo branch, is known for advocating food sovereignty. He had previously run for mayor of Karlovo in 2023, though he did not progress past the initial rounds. In an interview with Belarus's state-run BELTA agency, he downplayed the criticism of Lukashenko's regime, stating, "They say there was a dictatorship here, but I don't think so. The reality is completely different. People are calm and communicate easily. It's not like that in Europe at all."

Belarusian state media and TASS have referred to Vrachev as a representative of the Bulgarian parliament, further emphasizing his role in the election observation mission.

Sources:

• Dnevnik
• BELTA