Elected ruler is protecting pound, creating suspicion (7)
I believe the answer is:
inkling
'suspicion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'elected ruler is protecting pound' is the wordplay.
'elected' becomes 'in'.
'ruler' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of ruler**).
'is protecting' indicates putting letters inside.
'pound' becomes 'l'.
'king' placed around 'l' is 'kling'.
'in'+'kling'='INKLING'
'creating' is the link.
(Other definitions for inkling that I've seen before include "Slightest idea" , "Thought" , "Linking with suspicion or hint" , "Vague suspicion" , "Conception" .)