AVON and Somerset's independent police commissioner Sue Mountstevens received the highest level of voter support nationally in being elected to office.
Amid concerns that low turnout in the November polls had resulted in "extraordinarily weak" mandates, she was the only successful candidate to win the backing of more than 10 per cent of the electorate – albeit narrowly - according to the Electoral Reform Society.
The average mandate for a commissioner was 7.1 per cent, while one candidate was elected with the support of less than five cent of voters - one in 20.
This had led the campaign group to dispute the claim by Home Secretary Theresa May that the office-holders would become the "voice of the people" and will be "visible, accessible and accountable".
A survey carried out for the ERS also found that most people – nearly 90 per cent – could not name the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for their area.
PCCs, which replaced existing police authorities, have the power to hire and fire chief constables and set the force's budget and "strategic direction".
In its report into the November ballot that was marred by a record-low turnout and cost £75 million to hold, the group branded the poll "an exercise in how not to run an election".
On 19 per cent, Avon and Somerset had one of the highest turnouts, compared to the 15 per cent national average – the lowest in peacetime history.
The ERS said: "The low turnout of the election resulted in some extraordinarily weak mandates."
Based on the percentage of the electorate that endorsed the winning candidate, this was calculated by dividing the number of first and second preferences by the number of total eligible voters.
Mrs Mountstevens achieved the largest mandate of 10.1 per cent.
The group's report said: "On the day of the PCCs election it was claimed by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, that PCCs would become the 'voice of the people' and will be
'visible, accessible and accountable'.
"It is difficult to see how this can be the case when in less than one in ten voters voted for their PCC."
The group said that the elections "failed both candidates and voters alike".
It claimed people were "left in the dark about who they could vote for", while the turnout was hit by holding the election in winter.
It also said candidates were kept away by "huge deposits, unclear eligibility rules, vast electoral districts and high campaign costs".
The society made a number of recommendations for the next PCC election, which included not holding a poll in winter, and posting information on the candidates to voters.
Last week electoral staff said voters were not at the heart of the PCC elections. The Association of Electoral Administrators reported that information was not readily accessible and not well co-ordinated at a national level.
A Home Office spokesman said: "These elections marked the biggest democratic reform in policing in our lifetimes.
"More than five million people turned out to vote for the first ever election of police and crime commissioners, giving them an infinitely bigger mandate than the unelected and invisible police authorities they replaced.
"That number will only grow in the future as people see the real impact PCCs are already making in their areas, delivering on public priorities in tackling crime."
The report also pointed out all 12 independent candidates elected, had previously had some experience working in the criminal justice system.
This included Mrs Mountstevens, a former magistrate and member of the police authority.
It said: "The former occupations of the Independents elected as PCCs suggests that voters particularly favoured candidates with criminal justice backgrounds and may therefore have been confirmation of the desire (expressed in our voter survey) to avoid 'politicising the police'."
