The final two weeks of any election campaign fuels the momentum that settles the score. Leaders and candidates, therefore, put their best foot forward in the final days before the election. Turkey finds itself at that very spot now. The municipal election is just 10 days away.

As expected, the municipal election campaign in Turkey has ended up bogged down in national issues.

As Turkey inches toward the municipal elections, the "national survival" debate is deepening with new wars of words between competing definitions of nationalism.

Ahead of this month's municipal elections, the main ideological debate in Turkey revolves around the question of national survival.

Ahead of the March 2019 municipal elections, battle lines have been drawn across Turkey's political arena.

Neither a populist discourse nor a violent uprising can help opposition win the upcoming elections, as Turkish democracy has recently proven how strong it is in the face of such crises

Yet, the pain that accompanied Britain's decision to leave the EU two years ago hasn't ended just yet. The nature of the agreement fueled a new public debate in Britain, where former Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the mildest critics of the Brexit deal, called it "pointless."

The Erdoğan-Bahçeli meeting on Thursday reconfirmed that the two political blocs, namely the People's Alliance of the AK Party and MHP and the opposition's Nation Alliance, formed for the June 24 presidential elections, will remain in place for the next local elections

The CHP leader has launched his party's campaign for upcoming local elections, seeking to form a strong alliance, but tough days are waiting for him as his rivals, the AK Party and the MHP, are still strong enough to defeat his party

Muharrem İnce, the presidential candidate nominated by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the recent June 24 elections, has been trying to take over the party's leadership for quite some time.

Turkey's opposition parties have no choice but to engage questions about identity, ideology and policy development, and to find ways to genuinely connect with the people

Had it not been for President Erdoğan's strong leadership, Turkey might have panicked in the face of pressing issues and failed to prevent existing problems or meet new challenges

The chaos unleashed on Turkey's opposition by the June 24 elections won't be over anytime soon. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) that oversaw the formation of the Nation Alliance by "lending" 15 parliamentarians to the newly-formed Good Party (İP), has his back to the wall.

Turkey's opposition remains unable to overcome the emotional trauma of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first-round victory in the June 24 presidential election.

Political players that draw the right lessons from the June 24 elections will successfully adapt to changing circumstances

Western governments have no choice but to reassess their priorities and work with Turkey under the leadership of President Erdoğan

The June 24 election is all about the institutionalization of the presidential system and deciding who is best suited to carry Turkey into the future