Sulaimaniya, Iraq

FROM my hotel balcony I can see this city of nearly 700,000 in all its modernity and all its madness. I can see the desiccated mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan encircling us — hills that on my last visit, during the rainy season, were covered in poppies. I can see the Ferris wheel that was built as a symbol of freedom on the ruins of one of Saddam Hussein’s prisons. And I can see 20 armed soldiers watching me from below, making me feel anything but free.

This is Sulaimaniya. I can see mosques around the city and I can hear their calls to prayer. Against all Islamic principles, I can drink mojitos in my hotel lobby and was once invited to watch pornography on the bellboy’s cellphone.

Kurdish politics are just as full of contradictions. Since Iraqi Kurdistan gained de facto independence in 1991, it has been governed by either the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or the Kurdistan Democratic Party. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the two formed a coalition, resulting in a government whose corruption and cronyism went unchallenged.

Last Saturday, however, this region went to the polls, and a real opposition emerged: Gorran, whose name means “change.” Gorran came in a respectable second to the ruling coalition with 24 percent of the votes for Parliament seats. But can Gorran, which was formed only three months ago, really be considered a legitimate force for change?