Own Correspondent|After a tumultuous six weeks or so, protests have again flared up in several major townships. Fears that Election Day would be affected have been realised.

As South Africans express their democratic right to vote in the elections on Wednesday, other angered citizens are exercising their rights to protest. In at least three major settlements, demonstrations have kicked off on election day according to media reports from South Africa.

The first reported incidents came from Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Residents had blockaded the road before dawn on Wednesday, with some major roads being closed off to the public as the discontent intensifies over poor service delivery in the region.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the Western Cape, residents of Plettenberg Bay have also taken to the streets to vent their frustrations. This is affecting the N2 road and traffic is already being forced to take an alternative route.

Although there are no disruptions to report on the N1 or N3, communities serviced by the N2 seem to be the ones vocalising their concerns on Election Day. Protests in Umlazi, Durban flared-up on Tuesday night and continued in Wednesday morning.

From around 5:00, sections of the N2 near Umgababa, Lamontville, Higginson Highway in Chatsworth, Ntuzuma and Mary Thipe Road in Cato Manor have been blighted by burning tyres and debris.

The situation in the townships outside of Durban is arguably the most fraught of the lot – and their protests don’t just involve traffic disruption: SABC reported this morning that two community halls set-up as voting stations have been burned down as part of the demonstrations.

• We’ll have more on these developments later in the day.