By LCN Business Desk
Two consecutive non-business days, set out in four lines of gazette.
The notification is one of only two substantive items in the Legal Supplement of the 17 October issue. It is dated 12 October and signed by the Minister of Home Affairs.
What does the notification say?
That Sunday 8 November is a public holiday, and so is the Monday after it.
The instrument is made under sections 3(1) and 3(2) of the Public Holidays Act, Chapter 19:07. It declares, in terms:
"SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2026 IS HEREBY DECLARED A PUBLIC HOLIDAY."
and then:
"AS DEEPAVALI FALLS ON A SUNDAY, THE FOLLOWING DAY MONDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2026 IS DECLARED A PUBLIC HOLIDAY."
It is dated 12 October 2026 and signed by Oneidge Walrond, Minister of Home Affairs. It appears at page 1059 of the Legal Supplement to the Official Gazette of Saturday 17 October 2026.
| The instrument | Detail |
|---|---|
| Made under | Sections 3(1) and 3(2), Public Holidays Act, Cap 19:07 |
| Holiday declared | Sunday 8 November 2026, Deepavali |
| Second day declared | Monday 9 November 2026 |
| Dated | 12 October 2026 |
| Signed by | Oneidge Walrond, Minister of Home Affairs |
| Published | Official Gazette, 17 October 2026, Legal Supplement page 1059 |
Source: Notification made under the Public Holidays Act, Official Gazette of 17 October 2026.
What closes, and for how long?
The Monday, which is the declaration that changes the working week.
A holiday declared for a Sunday displaces no working day. The second declaration displaces one, because 9 November 2026 is a Monday. Taken with the weekend, the run of non-working days is Saturday 7, Sunday 8 and Monday 9 November, and the next working day is Tuesday 10 November.
What each bank, port or registry does on a public holiday is set by its own practice and is not stated in the notification.
What else was in the same gazette?
One commencement order, and the supplement records nothing else.
The Legal Supplement of 17 October carries ACTS, NIL and BILLS, NIL. Its only other item is Order No. 188 of 2026, which brought the Sea and River Defence Act 2024 into operation on 7 October 2026.
The issue's First Supplement carries transports, mortgages and leases, two company notices, lands and surveys entries and trade marks. The Government Notice at the front of the issue is an application to the Telecommunications Agency to amend a frequency authorisation, on which written comments close on 2 November 2026.
The previous week's issue, of 10 October, carried six orders in its own Legal Supplement. Five transferred state land, reported in Five Orders Moved 2,368 Acres to the Housing Authority, and one acquired a road corridor, in Order 182 Takes 77 Acres for the Heroes Highway Extension.
What does this mean for the rest of the Caribbean?
That a Sunday holiday in a plural society is a drafting problem with a standing answer.
Guyana's public holidays include observances fixed by lunar and liturgical calendars, so a holiday landing on a Sunday recurs. The notification handles it in a single instrument, citing two subsections and doing two things: declaring the Sunday, then declaring the Monday on the stated ground that the observance fell on a Sunday. The second declaration is made expressly, not left to operate automatically.
The date to hold is Monday 9 November 2026, which is a public holiday in Guyana by this notification and was not one before it.
The entities
- Public Holidays Act, Chapter 19:07 is the statute under which public holidays are declared in Guyana.
- Deepavali is the observance for which Sunday 8 November 2026 was declared.
- Oneidge Walrond is Guyana's Minister of Home Affairs and signed the notification.
- Official Gazette published the notification on 17 October 2026.
- Order No. 188 of 2026 is the other Legal Supplement item in the same issue, commencing the Sea and River Defence Act 2024.
- Telecommunications Agency is receiving comments on a frequency authorisation amendment until 2 November 2026.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
- Sunday 8 November 2026. Declared a public holiday for Deepavali. Source: Notification under the Public Holidays Act, Official Gazette 17 October 2026.
- Monday 9 November 2026. Declared a public holiday because Deepavali falls on a Sunday. Source: as above.
- Sections 3(1) and 3(2). The provisions of the Public Holidays Act, Cap 19:07, under which the notification is made. Source: as above.
- 12 October 2026. The date of the notification. Source: as above.
- Page 1059. Its place in the Legal Supplement to the Official Gazette of 17 October 2026. Source: as above.
- Quotation: "AS DEEPAVALI FALLS ON A SUNDAY, THE FOLLOWING DAY MONDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2026 IS DECLARED A PUBLIC HOLIDAY."
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Deepavali a public holiday in Guyana in 2026?
Yes. Sunday 8 November 2026 was declared a public holiday by a notification under the Public Holidays Act, published in the Official Gazette of 17 October 2026.
Is Monday 9 November also a holiday?
Yes. The same notification declares Monday 9 November 2026 a public holiday because Deepavali falls on a Sunday.
Under what law was this done?
Sections 3(1) and 3(2) of the Public Holidays Act, Chapter 19:07, of the laws of Guyana.
Who signed it and when?
Oneidge Walrond, Minister of Home Affairs, dated 12 October 2026.
What is the next working day?
Tuesday 10 November 2026. The run of non-working days is Saturday 7, Sunday 8 and Monday 9 November.
What else was in the Legal Supplement of that gazette?
Only Order No. 188 of 2026, commencing the Sea and River Defence Act 2024 with effect from 7 October 2026. The supplement records no Acts and no Bills.