This is really good. There are more parallels: After @Gorran_Change's expulsion from the govt, there were huge protests in Slemani (later Erbil) against the KRG. By December 2017 people on the streets of Slemani were calling for a "raparin" against the "partners in crime"/1 https://twitter.com/LSEMiddleEast/status/1194335483599425538

Gorran shied away from supporting the 2016-2018 protests because it preferred to strike a bargain w/ the PUK (& later the KDP). Protesters burned Gorran offices in 12/2017 as well. To them, the opposition was part of the KRG cartel. /2

These protests were primarily organized by groups like the mamostayani narazi (disgruntled teachers). But they had little room to maneuver and had no influence on political outcomes. Protests were ultimately suppressed by PUK (12/2017) and KDP (4/2018) forces./3

A"civil society" that rejected the entire political establishment was ultimately without a discernible leader or association to organize dissent outside the party structure (unions and pro associations are all funded by the KRG)./4

There are some differences though. To borrow @fanarhaddad’s phrase, going up against the KDP and PUK is more like pushing against a rock than punching through jelly. The southern provinces’ fractionalization may give civil society more room to maneuver./5