Thanks for all the helpful responses. In the end, I went back and used the pip method to install a new wallet. Originally, I had wanted to restore an existing wallet but was unable to carry out the restore function during the installation. In the end, I just installed a new wallet. Once the new wallet was functional however, I was able to open the old data file "electrum.dat", of which I had made a backup copy and presto, my original wallet was available.

I gave this a try and got the following response:
E: Unable to locate package electrum

Thanks for your quick reply. I tried the second option and opted restore a wallet, entered my seed, but the "next" button remained faded, so I could not go any further.

So to your first option, where do I find the repository containing the download?
Regards,
jamarsh

I had an electrum wallet on Ubuntu 14.04. I need to reinstall electrum on Ubuntu 16.04 and rebuild the wallet from the seed. I followed the instructions on the Electrum site using pip, but was not successful getting the application installed.