Zackie Achmat, South Africa’s first out queer independent candidate to stand in a national election, will not be going to Parliament after failing to garner enough votes. “The IEC has declared me a loser, and I fully accept that result,” Achmat said in a video on Saturday, thanking the people who voted for him. The longtime activist, who stood for the National Assembly as an independent candidate in the Western Cape, secured more than 10,000 votes but needed a minimum of 45,000 to ensure a seat in the legislature. This was the first time that independent candidates were allowed to contest a national election.