secure parliamentary seats, so Topal was not elected. In 2002, he was one of the founders of the social-political movement Za Gagauziu! (For Gagauzia), formed in opposition to the ruling Communists. When snap elections for Governor of Gagauzia were held again on 6 October 2002, Topal ran again. However, the results were declared invalid, as only 41.43% of voters took part. When the election was repeated two weeks later, the local electoral commission barred Topal from running, citing irregularities in his filing papers. References External links Background on Topal and Gagauz elections Information about previous Gagauzia Governors' races 1938 births Gagauz people Gagauzia conflict Anti-Romanian sentiment Moldovan engineers 2018 deaths People from Gagauzia Moldovan MPs 1990–1994 Heads of state of former unrecognized countries