A former chief constable of Thames Valley Police has warned of poor turnout in upcoming commissioner elections and said the process has been poorly organised.
Peter Neyroud said voters need more information about the first ever police and crime commissioner elections, and warned the November 15 date will mean people stay away from the polls.
The Home Office said a TV and radio advertising campaign will help drum up interest.
Mr Neyroud said: “If you could have constructed a manual on how not to conduct an election, the Home Office have managed to tick off just about every element of it, including holding it in November, which is almost guaranteed to be dark and poor weather.
“So there are significant problems with getting a decent turnout and that in itself is going to be a problem for the elected candidates. If they get elected on a 15% turnout it’s going to be pretty shocking.”
To stand you must be 18 or over, registered to vote, have 100 signatures supporting you and pay a £5,000 deposit. Nominations must be submitted by noon on October 19.
The voting registration deadline is October 31.
