By Ahmad Pathoni

DILI, April 13 (Reuters) - The body responsible for organising this week's presidential elections in East Timor failed to conduct adequate voter education and training for officials, the election commission said on Friday.

Monday's voting was mostly peaceful but has been followed by a stream of allegations over the way the process was carried out, prompting demands for a recount by some candidates.

"STAE and field officials have not been serious in carrying out their jobs," Martinho Gusmao, a spokesman for the supervisory National Election Commission (CNE), told a news conference.

STAE refers to the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, the body responsible for organising Monday's elections.

"Officials at polling stations have made grave mistakes and voters did not know how to cast their ballots," he said.

Gusmao said there had been cases in several districts, including in the capital Dili, where the number of voters who cast ballots did not tally with ballot papers.

"There have been many inconsistencies and CNE has to sort things out within 72 hours," he said.

Provisional tallies show Prime Minister Ramos-Horta and parliament chief Francisco Guterres of the ruling Fretilin Party, who is also known by the guerrilla nickname "Lu'olo" he had during East Timor's fight against Indonesian rule, will contest a run-off after none of the eight candidates won more than 50 percent of the vote.

Ramos Horta, who has pointed to many flaws in the election, said the United Nations should have organised the polls.

"The word 'chaotic' is an appropriate one in view of what we know now," he told reporters.

"I have warned many months ago the (U.N.) Security Council, (and) my own government, that it's best to get the United Nations to manage the election completely," he said.

"We can see now there are serious doubts, grave doubts, about the integrity of STAE," he said.

The election commission has rejected calls by five candidates for a vote recount, saying all complaints would be submitted to the court of appeal.

EU observer chief Javier Pomes Ruiz said on Wednesday the election had mostly gone smoothly with a high turnout.

The drawn-out elections and the allegations being made will raise concerns about fresh instability in the impoverished nation, still suffering from deep divisions five years after independence.

Portugal ruled East Timor for centuries before pulling out in 1975. Indonesia took over and for decades its troops fought rebels led by Fretilin. A 1999 referendum went overwhelmingly for independence, gained in 2002 after a period of U.N. administration.

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