Five months before parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, donor nations are worried about another messy vote and some international officials are even discussing whether the polls should be delayed.

After years of encouraging democracy, some Western nations find themselves in the uncomfortable position of wondering whether another round of voting will do more harm than good in the violence-wracked country.

The parliamentary elections are due in May. Donor nations, including the U.S. and Britain, fear the upcoming vote could be a repeat of the August presidential election, which was rife with ballot-box stuffing and deadly violence, unless deep reforms are made to clean up the Afghan-run electoral process.

Another flawed vote would erode the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government at a time when he has pledged to battle corruption and improve services. Also, having to guard polling stations in May would be a distraction for the 30,000 U.S. reinforcements and thousands of other foreign troops recently deployed with orders to stall the Taliban's momentum and improve security so development can occur.

Afghan officials will have the final say on whether to postpone the vote, but the international community holds the purse strings.

"We are ready to carry out our duties. The only problem for us is money," said Noor Mohammad Noor, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission. "That is up to the donor countries who are providing us the funds. We are waiting for a response from them next month."

While the international community has not publicly threatened to hold back funds, some Western diplomats are quietly hoping Afghan officials decide to delay the election, according to two international officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they want to avoid any appearance of meddling in Afghan politics.

There is little consensus within the international community about what to do. Countries providing troops and aid to Afghanistan are weighing their desire to support the war-wracked nation's fragile democracy with the risk of financing another fraud-marred election.

If the May parliamentary elections are held, significant obstacles must be overcome, said Melanie Scarlett, press officer at the British Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

"Before committing further funding and putting our troops and those of our international partners at risk, we need to be sure that the lessons learned have been implemented and that the elections will make a contribution to improving Afghan governance," she said.

On the other hand, India insists the elections be held in May as required by the Afghan constitution.