An election is a [formal] decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office.

- Election, Wikipedia as on 9th June 2017

In an election, people vote for a candidate. 'To vote for a candidate' means to tell which candidate should be appointed as the 'decision-maker' of your society, town/city, state or nation. The candidate with most votes wins. This means that most number of peoplein that area think s/he should take the decisions for their area. Here, candidates are those who contest with other candidates in that same area, and win the election to become a public officer. A public officer discuss with other public officers to take decisions to solve the problems of that area.

Note that the exact process are complicated than what is written here. You may learn the "exact" details if you wish to and have the time for it.