Vanguard News Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum steps out of the wings On Mohamed Bazoum Mohamed Bazoum, named the winner of Niger’s presidential election, worked for years as the right-hand man of outgoing president Mahamadou Issoufou, often doing tough or tedious jobs that earned him little prominence. But that seemingly thankless work became the springboard for his bid for the top job, campaigning as Issoufou’s anointed successor in the country’s elections on December 27 and the Sunday runoff. On Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said in provisional results that Bazoum had been elected with 55.75 percent of the vote, ahead of former president Mahamane Ousmane with 44.25 percent.