When your whole thing is to keep presidents from being overthrown, what’s the harm.

On Friday, Robert Mugabe, the 90-year-old president of Zimbabwe, was named the chairperson of the African Union (AU), a collection of 54 African countries devoted in theory to promoting economic and diplomatic solidarity.

STR / Via AP

Mugabe has been in power since 1980 and has presided over a massive crash in the Zimbwaean economy and constant repression of political opponents and human rights in general.

Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / Via AP

I mean, it's hard to blame the AU for being pretty cool with this. These are the standards, taken from the AU Charter, that states have to uphold in order to be members in good standing.

African Union / Via au.int

Notice anything missing? That's right: any sort of flag wave towards democracy. This despite being composed of 52 republics and two kingdoms.

Elias Asmare / Via AP

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