Criminal to silence those deciding who'll get into office (9)
I believe the answer is:
elections
'those deciding who'll get into office' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'criminal to silence' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to'+'silence'='tosilence'
'tosilence' with letters rearranged gives 'ELECTIONS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for elections that I've seen before include "Votes to fill positions or political office" , "polls" , "Selection of appointments through ballots" , "democratic choices" , "procedures to ensure democracy?" .)