The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word VOTER
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
V
O
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result VOTER
- Doctor or vet to get active constituent
- Person in Rolls very nearly steals books
- One elects to put in minister from the right
- See 5 across
- One of those trying to provide seat for person standing
- One exercising veto by right?
- One putting cross into box from left or right wing, perhaps?
- Elector is held back in here to validate
- Overt corruption in key part of democratic process
- Elector's overt maneuvering
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "key part of democratic process" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case key part of democratic process = voter.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does VOTER mean?
VOTER noun- Someone who votes.