Müller did not run for re-election as Mayor, and former federal minister Franziska Giffey led the SPD in the election.

The Greens narrowly surpassed the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to become the second largest party with 19% of the vote.

The Left recorded a small decline to 14%, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) lost almost half its vote share and finished on 8%.

[4] Post-election, SPD's Giffey and Bettina Jarasch of the Greens both spoke out in favour of a coalition involving their parties.

[5] Due to numerous irregularities that took place during the election, the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin annulled the results in November 2022.

[2] In the previous election held on 13 March 2016, the SPD remained the largest party with 21.6% of the vote, a loss of 6.7 percentage points.

On 5 October 2020, the Greens nominated Bettina Jarasch, spokeswoman for integration and refugees, as their lead candidate for the election.

[9] Prior to the election, incumbent mayor Michael Müller voiced his desire to move into federal politics rather than seek another term.

On 30 November 2020, the state party executive nominated Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Franziska Giffey as lead candidate for the election.

She was simultaneously elected co-leader of the Berlin branch of the party alongside parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh.

[9][3] On 8 December, The Left nominated incumbent Deputy Mayor and Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer as its lead candidate for the election.

Lederer is noted as one of the most popular politicians in Berlin, achieving consistently high approval ratings.

Before the results, the SPD's candidate Franziska Giffey had stated that she was looking to form a coalition involving the CDU and the FDP.

The court may determine that a repeat of the elections is necessary in the affected constituencies; it is expected to take several months to deliver its verdict.

[24] The court handed down its official ruling on 16 November, voiding the results and mandating a new election within 90 days.The president of the court Ludgera Selting [de] stated that the frequency and gravity of irregularities were severe enough to affect the outcome of the results, and that serious systemic flaws were present during preparation for the election.

The CDU/CSU and AfD factions opposed this, insisting that a full repeat in the six affected constituencies should take place.