The candidate of the Rally for Mali (RPM), Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK), largely benefited from a popular vote because he is close to the people, professor Issa N\'Diaye told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Wednesday on his lead in the July 28 presidential elections. N\'Diaye formerly served as the national education minister in the regime of president Amadou Toumani Toure during the transition period in 1992, as well as culture minister in the first regime of president Alpha Oumar Konare, before becoming a philosophy professor at a local university. Mali\'s Territorial Administration Minister Moussa Sinko Coulibaly on Tuesday announced partial results from a third of the counted ballots, saying, \"If the same trend continues, then IBK could win the July 28 presidential elections in the first round.\" Commenting on the announcement, N\'Diaye said, \"The statement by Minister Coulibaly surprised me, because traditionally in this country, elections are held in two rounds. But the massive turnout could make IBK the winner in the first round.\" The former minister said the massive turnout of the voters showed that people were dissatisfied with those who had been ruling the country for the last 20 years. However, some political analysts have argued that \"IBK himself was part of the establishment within the last 20 years, having served as a prime minister for six years and speaker of parliament for five years.\" Explaining the higher votes for the candidate of RPM, N\'Diaye said, \"This was because IBK is close to the population and he understands better the social concerns as well as the daily challenges of the people.\" Asked on what IBK should prioritize if he assumes the presidency, N\'Diaye quickly pointed out the security situation in northern Mali. \"The issue of northern Mali is one which is very sensitive among Malians. The Malians saw the rebellion and the peace agreements and the political position taken by IBK was very nationalist. Something that made him the favorite of the people,\" the philosophy professor said. \"The issue of northern Mali will be handled with a lot of firmness. But one mistake that he should not make is to fail to negotiate and decide the place of the Malians regarding the rebellion. If he takes that route, I think he will be risking a lot,\" N\'Diaye said. He said he believed IBK will be willing to negotiate with all communities in northern Mali, but was not sure whether he will be able to \"overcome external pressure.\" Besides the crisis in northern Mali, N\'Diaye noted that another major challenge facing Mali is the \"need to reconstruct the Malian state.\" \"This means that we must carry out an audit, see what does not work in the country, identify those who are responsible, reconstruct the country and build a political system that is closer to the population,\" he said. The former Malian minister noted that \"this will be the main challenge that IBK will be confronted with. But will he be able to overcome the challenge? That is the question that will be answered in the course of time.\"