ANKARA, May 6 (WNM staff/Newswires) -- Turkey's Supreme Election Council on Monday cancelled the result of Istanbul local elections on the request of the ruling party, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Election officials ordered Istanbul's mayoral election redone, nullifying the opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu's win.

The decision had immediate effect in the FOREX market and has led to a collapse of  the Turkish lira. The Turkish lira slid 2.2 per cent against the dollar to trade past the six per dollar mark for the first time since October. It pared some of its losses in afternoon US trading.

After over five hours of debates and evaluations, judges of the top electoral board decided on a majority of seven to four to re-hold the elections in the summer, Anadolu said.

The main opposition Republican People's Party won control of the capital Ankara, and Istanbul, the country's biggest city, in nationwide local elections on March 31. The ruling Justice and Development Party has called for the results in Istanbul to be annulled, citing what they say "irregularities." The rulings of the council are final and cannot be taken to a higher court.

“It is high cost, precisely because it removes a fig leaf. Because this is in Istanbul, the cultural and economic centre, it is seen as more significant than other attacks on democratic principles,” said Howard Eissenstat, a Turkey expert at St. Lawrence University in New York, according to the Financial Times. 

A probe of irregularities found that dozens of members of balloting committees linked the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, the Daily Sabah reports.