The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word PREFERENTIAL
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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More clues leading to the result PREFERENTIAL
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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.
Crossword Answer definitions
PREFERENTIAL adjective- Of or relating to the showing or giving of preference.
- Of or relating to a voting system in which the voters are allowed to indicate on their ballots their preference (usually their first and second choices) between two or more candidates, so that if no candidate receives a majority of first choices the one receiving the greatest number of first and second choices together is the winner.