The poll found a large majority of Zimbabweans think the country is on the wrong path and that the economy is getting worse.

Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and his Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party would win next month's Zimbabwean elections by a margin of between 8% and 9% - if the elections are free and fair - a new poll suggests.

The poll of 2,000 registered voters, conducted by Elite Africa Research in June, found that if the elections were held then, 47.6% of respondents would vote for Chamisa in the presidential poll, while 38.7% would vote for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Similarly, the poll found that 47.7 % of respondents would vote for Chamisa's CCC while 39.6% would vote for Mnangagwa's ruling Zanu-PF party in the parliamentary elections.

The presidential, parliamentary and local council elections are all scheduled to be held on 23 August.

Even if these poll results suggest Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF would lose a fair contest, they are still quite flattering to the ruling party and president.

The poll also found, by much wider margins, that Zimbabweans believe their country is heading in the wrong direction and that the economy is getting worse.

A large majority of 69.4% said they thought the country was heading in the wrong direction, while only 27.3% felt it was heading in the right direction....