vote. The current President of Białystok, elected for his first term in 2006, is Tadeusz Truskolaski won the elections as the Civic Platform's candidate, however, he has no official connection with the party. In the first round of the elections he received 49% of the votes (42,889 votes altogether). In the later runoff he defeated his rival candidate Marek Kozlowski from Law and Justice (), receiving 67% of the votes cast (53,018 votes). For the 2010–2011 fiscal year the city received revenue (taxes levied + investments) of 1,409,565,525 zł, expended 1,676,459,102 zł leaving a budget deficit of 266,893,577 zł. The deficit was covered by short-term borrowing of 166,893,577 zł and the issuance of 100 million zł in municipal bonds. Other levels of governmental representation It is also the seat of government for the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The city is represented by several members of both houses of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senat) from the Białystok constituency. Białystok is represented by the Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian constituency of the European Parliament. International relations There are nine consulates in Białystok, a Consulate General of Belarus and Honorary Consulates of Romania, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Luxembourg and Malta. The City of Białystok is a member of several organizations such as Union of Polish Metropolises (), Euroregion Niemen, Polish Green Lungs Foundation, and Eurocities. Białystok is twinned with: Eindhoven, Netherlands Kaunas, Lithuania Milwaukee, United States Dijon, France Yehud, Israel Jelgava, Latvia Mazara del Vallo, Italy Lusaka, Zambia Bornova, Turkey Chongzuo, China Sliema, Malta Dobrich, Bulgaria Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Former twin towns: Irkutsk, Russia Kaliningrad, Russia Pskov, Russia Tomsk, Russia On 3 March 2022, Białystok ended its partnership with the Russian cities of Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Pskov and Tomsk, and also with the Belarusian city of Grodno as a reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Eastern Partnership cities: Lutsk, Ukraine Gori, Georgia Bălți, Moldova Gyumri, Armenia Sumgait, Azerbaijan Former partnership: Grodno, Belarus Military units The construction of the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway which passed through the city and was the strategic nerve of the Russian Empire, resulted in the rising of the military importance of the city: In 1879, construction of the barracks of the Włodzimierski Infantry Regiment began (currently it is the area of the Voivodeship hospital between Wojskowa, Skłodowskiej-Curie and Wołodyjowskiego Streets). In 1884, barracks of the Kazan Infantry Regiment were established at Traugutta Street in Wygoda. In 1887, barracks of