Choose verbal 50-50 - or back to the government list (9,4)
I believe the answer is:
electoral roll
'list' is the definition.
(I have seen 'List of voters' mean 'electoral roll' so perhaps 'list' could also mean 'electoral roll')
'choose verbal 50-50' is the wordplay.
'choose' becomes 'elect' (electing is a kind of choosing).
'verbal' becomes 'oral' (I've seen this before).
'50 50' becomes 'roll' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'elect'+'oral'+'roll'='ELECTORAL ROLL'
'or back to the government' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for electoral roll that I've seen before include "Voting list" , "List of people" , "List of those eligible to vote" , "List of eligible voters" .)