Elected to leave on time for bar (5)
I believe the answer is:
ingot
'bar' is the definition.
(block of metal, eg a bar of gold)
'elected to leave on time' is the wordplay.
'elected' becomes 'in' (in government).
'to leave' becomes 'go'.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'in'+'go'+'t'='INGOT'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for ingot that I've seen before include "expensive block" , "Bar, often gold" , "Pig" , "Bar, brick of metal" , "A lump of metal like gold" .)