WELL, that was an anti-climax.

Election day has come and gone. Democracy has had its day.

Dozens of councillors have been elected along with a police and crime commissioner too.

But on reflection, was it worth it? Probably not.

For the first time ever I actually failed to leap out of bed on election day with excitement.

Instead I trudged over to the polling booth at just after 7am to find about 10 people in the room, all of them election staff.

I picked up my papers, grabbed one of those short stubby pencils that you never see at any other time of the year and looked at what was in front of me.

I paused.

And then I sighed and thought, “who the hell am I going to vote for”.

I thought it may have just been me.

But then I went into work, spoke to colleagues and friends, took a peek at social media and the reaction was exactly the same.

At counting time on Friday it was announced that just over one in five of those people allowed to cast their vote bothered to do so. I was surprised it was that many; after all, has there ever been a post that members of the public cared so little about?

When PCCs came in four years ago I was one of those who was quite excited. More democracy and greater accountability was surely a good thing, especially when you consider that the former police authority had 17 people on it, none of whom was elected for the post.

Yes, they shared knowledge, yes, they argued and debated different views and yes it was politically representative of the county as a whole.

But did anyone know who they were? The advent of the police and crime commissioner was supposed to change all of that, to make the system of policing more accountable.

It also cost roughly the same as the old system, so on paper it looked like a good deal. The only problem was that the mandarins in Whitehall responsible for rolling out the whole thing in November 2012 forget to tell anyone standing what it would involve.

So rather than hitting the ground running, the PCCs elected across the country were left floundering, wondering what they were supposed to do with all the “power” they thought they had been entrusted with.

It took a few months to realise that aside from firing the chief constable there wasn’t much actual power to be had. The result of this confused role meant that four years on no one, apart from a few political party stalwarts, particularly wanted the job.

The lack of public funding for campaigning was also a major problem with candidates being forced to dip into their own pockets to pay even for leaflets to go through every household door.

With campaigning limited to a few newspaper and TV interviews, social media and a small section on a not particularly clear website, was it any wonder that few people knew what the election was all about, never mind who those standing for the role were?

I met four out of the five Sussex PCC candidates in the election period (even in talking to one I was probably in a very small percentage of the 1.6 million voters across Sussex).

Being brutally honest, only two of those I genuinely felt had it in them to do the job. And of these, only one – incumbent Katy Bourne – probably knew what the position was actually about.

When the results were read out late on Friday the announcement we were all expecting took place with Ms Bourne being re-elected to the role despite being run close by Labour’s Alan Jones.

For the sake of the county, it was probably the best result as the businesswoman-turned-politician has had nearly four years learning the ropes actually to have a proper impact during the next term.

Rumour has it that this next term could be her last, with the PCC role across the country potentially being scrapped if there’s a change in government.

Despite all the flaws of the post, I believe that would be a mistake. Yes, no one really knows what the role involves. But at least it is democratic.

For policing to become fully held to account, those in charge need to give proper powers to those holding the position. Giving oversight to all blue light services – so fire and ambulance as well as police – would be a start.

But there also needs to be a commitment for greater taxation powers, so the PCC can raise and allocate funds where they see fit.

And proper funding should be made available for campaigning at elections so it’s not just political parties that can afford the £5,000 deposit to stand.

Perhaps then in four years time, myself and the other 1.6 million voters will jump out of bed with excitement on polling day rather than wondering what the point of voting is.

The Argus:

Thank god for May. This weekend the festival began, fringe too and the sun even began to shine.

On weekends like this, is there anywhere else in the world you would rather be?